Trapped Souls
by quillthorn58
Summary: What if all those years Harry spent thinking that his parents were dead was a simple deception of Voldemort? Harry discovers the truth through a soul merging with a certain redhead, and opens a connection to his parents that he never believed possible.
1. Chapter 1 Introducing the Order

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCING THE ORDER

"BOY! STOP YOUR PACING UP THERE OR YOU CAN GO PACE OUT ON THE STREET WHERE YOU BELONG!"

Vernon Dursley's voice boomed through 4 Privet Drive, shaking walls and causing an anxious teenager with raven hair to lay back down on his bed and sigh with frustration. He supposed he had been pacing about an hour and he was well aware that the tiny bedroom he was in had creaky floorboards that would surely irritate his Aunt and Uncle, surely sitting below him in the dining room.

But in fact, Harry Potter couldn't care less of the thoughts of his Aunt and Uncle- the events of the night washed their concerns so thoroughly out of his mind that he barely thought of anything else. A few hours ago, he had encountered two dementors while walking home with Dudley- in Little Whinging no less! The shock of finding out that his batty cat-loving neighbor Mrs. Figg was in fact a squib and that Aunt Petunia knew more of the wizarding world that he suspected was quite enough to be thinking about, not including the warnings from the Ministry about expulsion and having his wand snapped! Harry shuddered at the thought and shut his eyes tightly, trying to drive his thoughts away from anything but the idea of no Hogwarts.

Harry heard a tap on his window, and his eyes flew open to see Errol, the Weasley's family owl, struggling to stay aloft outside.. He quickly crossed the room and slid the window open to let him in and relieved him of his letter. Errol hopped to the water pan and drank for a few moments before settling on top of Hedwig's now empty cage. As Harry turned his attention back to the parchment, he was surprised to see many different types of handwriting scribbled across it. The first was surely Mr. Weasley.

_Harry- _

_Dumbledore straightened things out with the Ministry, but you're still going to have to attend a hearing, as I'm sure you've heard. Until then, you're going to need to keep your head down. We should have a team to come get you within the next day or two. DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE !_

Next was the more familiar scrawl of Ron Weasley, his best mate.

_Hey Harry, don't worry- we'll get you away from the muggles really soon and we'll explain everything. I know you're frustrated mate, but would you call off Hedwig from nipping at our fingers every few minutes? it's becoming really bloody difficult to write. _

Harry snorted. Frustrated with the lack of answers he was getting the week before, he had sent Hedwig out to Ron, Hermione, and Sirius hoping for answers and with orders to peck their fingers until they had nice, decently long responses. It seems like Hedwig took the instructions to heart.

The last set of lines were written the tidy print of his other best friend, Hermione Granger.

_Harry- I'm so sorry we can't tell you anything more than we have, we promised Dumbledore. But we'll see you soon and explain everything. Please don't be mad at us- Hedwig had conveyed your feelings quite enough for all of us. _

Reaching the end of the last note, Harry quickly wrote a response to Mr. Weasley telling him that he would stay in the house and wait for them to pick him up, and sent Errol back on his way after some more water and an owl treat habitually reserved for Hedwig.

Time passed quite slowly for Harry, and he felt himself slipping back into the summer before his second year at Hogwarts. Aunt Petunia set all his meals (if they could be called even that) through the cat flap installed on his door years ago, and he alternated between sleeping, staring at the ceiling, and flipping idly through his old school books. The former, however, was proving to be problematic- every time Harry managed to pass into some form of a peaceful sleep, he would end up in the graveyard watching Cedric Diggory get murdered and Voldemort regaining his body all over again. He would wake up in a cold sweat and then stare at the walls for a few hours before repeating the pattern again.

Although it felt like weeks, four days passed before anybody came to retrieve Harry. Uncle Vernon yelled up the stairs that the family would be leaving for a company dinner, and that if he came back to find anything had been touched or food had been stolen that he would have no food for a week. Harry had no intentions of leaving his room, rendering the threats unnecessary. Half an hour later, he heard a disturbance in the silent house. He grabbed his wand off his desk and crept to the door, jumping a little as he clearly heard a plate smash in the kitchen, followed by quiet giggling. He backed towards his bed when he heard heavy footfalls on the stairs and landing, followed by a whispered "alohomora!". A bright light shone in his face, and moved quickly to allow Harry to see the five curious faces peering in at him. With a start, he recognized Remus Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody, although the other 3 faces were new to him.

"Hi Harry" said Lupin warmly, and he entered the room. Harry smiled and gave a brief embrace. Lupin turned to introduce him to the others.

"I'd like you to meet Nymphadora Tonks-" indicating a short witch with bright purple hair and a great smile on her face, who also made an insistent sound in her throat at hearing her name.

"I prefer to be known only as Tonks, Harry", she said warmly, giving Remus a glare that spoke of her disgust for her actual name.

"Er, yes, anyways, you know Mad Eye already-" Moody gave a quick nod in his direction, "and this bloke here is Kingsley. He's an auror for the Ministry of Magic."

Kingsley was a large, dark man standing at 6'4" and wearing blood red robes. As he spoke to say hi to Harry, he noticed that Kingsley's voice had a deep reassuring quality about it that was quite pleasant.

"Alright, enough of these pleasantries! Let's get downstairs and wait for the signal." Mad Eye stumped down the stairs at the general amusement of everyone else, already being used to his "constant vigilance" and paranoid manner. Tonks and Kingsley followed, leaving Remus to help Harry pack his scattered belongings.

Harry sighed and began picking up piles of laundry, books, and parchment and piling them into his trunk. After a few moments of watching the slow progress, Remus told Harry to stand aside.

With a swish of his wand, all of Harry's belongings flew into his trunk, leaving only Dudley's old things in the small bedroom.

"Thanks!" said Harry with gratitude, knowing Remus had just saved him quite a bit of time trying to track down all of his things.

"Don't mention it Harry- we had better get downstairs before Moody starts throwing hexes out the windows." Remus pointed his wand at Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage before muttering "locomotor mortis" and levitating his things down the stairs to the door. Harry only held his broom and a jacket, and the group left the pristine interior of 4 Privet Drive to stand out on the lawn.

"Just a few moments…" muttered Moody.

"What are we waiting for?" whispered Harry. All he could see was the night sky, although nearly everyone's head was turned towards it.

"A signal" explained Remus. "It should be any minute now."

Right on cue, a burst of green sparks erupted just to the right of a cloud, and everybody mounted their brooms.

"Wow Harry, a Firebolt!" Tonks gazed at his broom longingly. "And to think I'm still riding Cleansweeps…"

The group kicked off hard, and after two frozen hours landed in a secluded park. They began walking slowly towards a group of houses, Moody ruffling through his pockets until he withdrew a small scrap of parchment with thin, loopy handwriting.

"Potter, read this and memorize it" he growled.

Harry looked at him in confusion but did as he was told.

"_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."_

Harry handed the scrap back to Mad Eye, who promptly incinerated it with a single spell from his wand.

"Now, look between number eleven and thirteen, and think about what you just read."

"But, I don't-"

Harry cut himself off as he saw a house magically expand itself between the other two, showing no disturbance to any muggle inside either residence. The group quickly crossed the street and walked up to the front step.

"Harry, please keep quiet when we get inside and don't touch anything" warned Remus.

When Mad Eye opened the door, it became apparent what Remus was talking about. The corridor was quite long and narrow, but also dark and depressing. Several heads of house elves were mounted on plaques on the left wall when they entered, and Harry repressed a shiver that went throughout his body.

_What kind of wizards would live in a place like this, and why are we here?_

The door at the end of the corridor opened with a creak and Molly Weasley bustled through. Harry's long relationship with the Weasleys allowed him to recognize the signs of Mrs. Weasley's cooking, and he had no doubt that she had been working for at least the past hour.

"Harry, dear! So good to see you!"

She pulled Harry into a rib cracking hug that Harry returned, something he always associated with family. She really was a secondary mother to him (well, to everybody if he was to be honest with himself).

"You look a bit peaky Harry, I don't think those muggles have been feeding you enough."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but a loud crash behind him stopped the words in his throat. Just as he was to turn around to see what fell, a pair of curtains just behind Mrs. Weasley burst open to reveal the most horrific painting of a woman he had ever seen.

"FILTH! SCUM! BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY ELDERS! HOW DARE YOU! MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS! I-"

"SHUT IT, YOU COW!" Sirius Black stormed into the hallway from another doorway and wrenched the painting shut, causing silence to fall once again on the house.

Sirius turned to see Harry staring at him, and smiled before pulling him into a hug.

Harry returned the embrace before looking up at the man that he knew to be his godfather. Since seeing him after his escape from Azkaban nearly 2 years ago, Sirius had managed to put back on all the weight he lost and regained some of his former charm. But there was still a haunted look in the man's eyes that showed he had been through hell and back.

Sirius looked back at Harry and sighed.

"Well, I suppose it's not much and it's a right lot filthier than any place you should stay in, but I welcome you to the House of Black." Sirius' words were dripping with sarcasm, and Harry could tell how much he disliked the place.

"I inherited this house from my parents because I'm technically the last living Black. Unfortunately it hasn't been inhabited in years, and my parents quite obviously weren't the best kinds of wizards."

Sirius laughed at Harry's expression, and his eyes softened before saying "it's good to see you again, Harry."

Mrs. Weasley took the moment of silence between them to say that dinner was going to be ready after the meeting, and that he could meet Hermione and Ron upstairs where all the other children were staying.

"Can I attend the meeting?" asked Harry.

"Most certainly not!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley. "You're far too young to be involved in such matters."

She directed him to the stairs, even as Harry shot a look of longing at Remus who slowly shook his head. Resigning himself to defeat, Harry trudged up the stairs to meet his best friends.


	2. Chapter 2 Answers

CHAPTER 2- ANSWERS

Harry made his way as quietly as possibly up three flights of creaky stairs before reaching yet another dark hallway (thankfully unadorned with heads). Following Mrs. Weasley's directions, he approached the second door on the left. This was supposed to be his and Ron's room, although before even opening it he could hear the voice of Hermione clearly engaged in some form of argument. Harry nearly smiled at the sheer normalcy of it all, but his frustrations of no answers got the better of him and he set his face into an expressionless mask.

He opened the door and caught a glimpse of red hair to his right before his vision was completely obscured by a mass of brown bushy hair, and was caught in a hug rival to Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry!" shrieked Hermione, "We didn't know you had arrived! How have you been? Are you ok? What happened with the dementors? They can't expel you, it's against the law, I checked, I-"

"Hermione, let him breathe!" chuckled Ron.

Hermione finally released Harry, who had reluctantly returned her hug, and shook hands with Ron.

"Hey mate, long time no see."

Ron looked down at the floor beneath his feet, hearing Harry's tone and knowing the argument that was about to arise. Hermione had no such foresight.

"Oh you're right Harry, it's been a month! We really missed you!"

Harry scowled. Missed him, did they? Clearly not enough to invite him over and tell him the truth. Ron saw his expression and started to say something, but Harry beat him to it.

"Well clearly you two have been having a ball, hanging out together and hearing all about what's going on, keeping up with the news. You know what I've been doing? STEALING NEWSPAPERS OUT OF RUBBISH BINS AND SITTING IN MY ROOM, HAVING NO BLOODY IDEA WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

Hermione looked close to tears, and Ron's ears had begun to turn red. He tried to reply, "It's not like that mate, the Order doesn't tell us what's going on, and we weren't allowed to tell you anything!"

"SAYS WHO?" yelled Harry, "YOU'RE MY BEST FRIENDS, AND EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON, YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE! YOU'VE BEEN TOGETHER AND I'VE BEEN STUCK EATING COLD SOUP AT THE DURSLEYS!"

Ron and Hermione were shocked into silence. It was rare that Harry ever spoke of his time at the Dursleys, and it was a true indication of his rage with them if he saw fit to mention it now.

"Harry, Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you anything. We were bound by an oath!" protested Hermione.

"WELL DUMBLEDORE CAN TAKE THE OATH AND SHOVE IT UP HIS-"

At that point, a loud crack interrupted Harry's tirade and Fred and George Weasley appeared on either side of Harry.

"Hello, Harry! We thought we heard you down here!"

"Well, actually we think any wizard in Britain could hear you."

"But no matter! We just came by to see if you all knew anything about dinner."

Harry took a deep breath and calmed down enough to say "It's supposed to be served after the meeting is out, whatever meeting that is."

The twins looked at each other and said in perfect synchrony "Your guess is as good as ours. See you at dinner!" and popped out again.

Harry turned back to his best friends, and saw them lean a bit away from him as the assault continued.

"What exactly is the Order of the Phoenix anyways?" snapped Harry.

"It's a secret organization created by Dumbledore in the first war that battles Voldemort" answered Hermione in her textbook lecturing tone, usually reserved for classes or explaining homework.

"Then why aren't we allowed in meetings?" Harry shot back. "Are we not good enough to fight?"

"No, not that mate" answered Ron, "It's just that you have to be 17 to join, and my parents would never allow it any earlier anyways."

"That's ridiculous!" shouted Harry, his rage quickly building back up. "I SAW VOLDEMORT RETURN IN JUNE, AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THE ORDER THINK'S I'M TOO YOUNG TO BE FIGHTING HIM? AFTER I'VE FACED HIM 4 TIMES IN VARIOUS FORMS AND COME OUT ON TOP ALL 4 TIMES, WE CAN'T JOIN A BLOODY GROUP TO JUST HEAR ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON? WE CAN'T TRY TO STOP IT?"

Harry took a moment to breathe when a small hand touched his shoulder. He almost brushed it away before looking back and realizing Ginny was standing right behind him. Harry had forgotten during his tantrum that he left the door open.

"Hello Harry, had a bit of a rough summer have you?"

He couldn't explain it, but something about the combination of her warm touch on his shoulder and staring into her chocolate brown eyes evaporated all of his anger, and allowed reason to return to him. A small cough from Ron reminded him that they were not alone in the room, and Harry stirred out of his thoughts to answer her question.

"Is it that obvious?" He smiled.

Ginny lightly smiled back, and said "it's good to have you back!" before giving him a hug and going to sit next to Hermione on Ron's bed. An awkward moment of silence elapsed before Harry spoke again.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault. You all don't deserve to be yelled at, especially not for something so out of your control."

Ron nodded, and Hermione smiled at him, signaling that they accepted his apology and expected the reaction from him.

Movement was heard from down the stairs as doors began opening and people (presumably Order Members) began leaving.

"I suppose we better go down for dinner," suggested Hermione, and at the silent agreement of the room, the group traipsed downstairs to help Mrs. Weasley prepare the meal. There wasn't much to be done, so they all sat at the table and waited for everyone to join them. Ginny sat rather close next to Harry, and although he had always been rather shy with physical contact, something about having her leg right next to his and being able to glance at her out of the corner of her eye put him in a peaceful state of mind, and he was able to relax for the first time that summer.

After dinner, Harry and the others tried to get information about the Order out of Sirius, but to no avail. The result was Mrs. Weasley and Sirius getting into an argument about how much Harry should and shouldn't know about the business of the Order, and eventually they were all sent up to bed. Hermione and Ginny stayed in Ron and Harry's room for a few minutes discussing the day and other random happenings since they parted from King's Cross. Ron and Hermione shared a game of Wizard's chess (Hermione was becoming remarkably good, but Ron was still the master), while Harry and Ginny played an easy game of Exploding Snap.

Harry kept stealing glances at her every once in awhile, pondering the feeling of peacefulness he always got when in close proximity. He also noticed (much to his chagrin) that Ginny had become quite beautiful, possibly one of the most beautiful girls at Hogwarts. Although he hadn't spent a lot of time with her previously, he knew she had a fiery streak that was not to be messed with but was unique to her alone but also a quiet demeanor while something was weighing on her mind. He knew that she bit her lip and twitched her right hand when anxious, and that at any point she could make her brothers submit to her will simply with a mention of her infamous Bat Bogey Hex. He didn't know how he knew all this, but somehow he felt these impressions just as he looked into her eyes.

Of course he got caught staring a few times, but he suspected Ginny was doing something similar. He gathered the impression that she was rather fond of his bright emerald eye color (again, another feeling whose origin couldn't be pinpointed). Ron thankfully didn't notice as he was too wrapped up in his chess game, but he saw Hermione glancing over at them from time to time.

Mrs. Weasley's footsteps were heard on the stairs a half an hour later, so Hermione and Ginny left quickly to avoid any confrontation- Mrs. Weasley was on the warpath after having arguments with Sirius.

"Lights off, boys" she snapped as she passed their open doorway, no doubt off to check on the twins.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Mental" he muttered, before changing into his pajamas and quickly falling asleep. Harry lay awake late into the night, listening to Ron's snoring and thinking about the Order, Ginny, and Voldemort. The combination of the three would afford him no sleep, so he quietly left his bed and made his way down to the kitchens for a cup of tea.

To his surprise, Ginny was also down there alone. She looked up at the sound of his footsteps, and smiled when she saw who it was. Harry smiled back.

"Can't sleep?"

She laughed. "Sleep is hard to come by sometimes in this house. Something about it's aura of dark magic I think- it makes me recall some of my time under Tom's control."

Her voice broke a bit at the end, and Harry turned around to see her hands wrapped tightly around her mug as if she couldn't get enough warmth. He shivered as he remembered the terrors of his second year of Hogwarts, realizing that her memories must be much worse than any he could draw up. He finished making his tea, and sat down in a chair next to her.

"Would you like to talk about it?" he offered softly.

"No…I've pretty well moved on with it, but it's difficult to remember sometimes. Especially when it crops up so realistically in my dreams."

Harry could understand that. His whole summer had been dreaming of the return of Voldemort, after all. Every time he relived it, he felt like he was back in that night.

"I understand how you feel. Reliving a lot of my experiences aren't the easiest thing, and I can only imagine what that must feel like to you."

Ginny closed her eyes, and shivered a little. Harry hesitated a moment before setting down his tea and pulling her into her arms. The moment she was there, he felt her body relax and a strange sense of calm came over him too. Ginny looked up at him from his chest with slightly teary eyes.

"Thank you, Harry. You don't know how much this means to me."

He smiled. "You're welcome. Anytime, Ginny."

She looked like she was going to say something, but abruptly changed her mind and announced that she was going back to bed.

"See you in the morning Harry, and….thanks again."

Harry watched her retreating figure and shook his head- he hadn't been sure before, but there was definitely something there for Ginny Weasley.

He drank his tea and went back to bed, tossing and turning all night with his nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3 Cleaning, Hearing, Merging

CHAPTER 3- Cleaning, Hearing, and Merging

Much of Harry's time in Sirius' house was not spent learning anything of interest about Voldemort. In fact, Mrs. Weasley worked extra hard to keep them away from any and all information concerning the Order. Each morning, Mr. Weasley and whatever Order members stayed overnight would head off to work, and then after breakfast the chores for the day were assigned. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny would work to decontaminate one room, while the Twins worked in another room. The tasks would vary from spraying curtains for doxies, disposing of dark magical artifacts (although Mrs. Weasley no longer trusted the twins with this task, after finding out they were using those items for joke testing), or just cleaning up the filth accumulated over the years.

These hours together gave the trio a lot of time to talk, with Ginny mostly listening and contributing a comment here or there. Harry could tell she was slightly envious of the adventures that Ron and Hermione would reminisce about, but enjoyed hearing about their hilarious encounters with Malfoy the ferret.

Two weeks passed like this, before the "dark magic" that Ginny spoke about influence Harry's dreams even moreso than usual.

For the first time in years, Harry relived the night his parents died in excruciating detail. Voldemort blasted the front door to bits, his father shouting and then a flash of green light. A man in dark robes standing in the doorway, telling his mother to stand aside while she screamed that she never would. Another flash of green light, and she crumpled to the floor.

At this point, the dream deviated from its normal path. There was a pause, where Voldemort stooped over his mother's body out of his sight, before straightening and sending the final curse at Harry. This pause confused Harry immensely, for he could never remember it before and thought that, thanks to the dementors, he knew pretty much what happened the night his parents died.

His brooding on the subject hadn't gone unnoticed the next day, when Ginny asked him why he was so quiet. Ron and Hermione had gone downstairs for lunch, and it was just Harry and Ginny alone in one the guest bedrooms.

"I had another bad dream."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry considered it for a moment, but knew immediately there was really only one person who would give him the answers he needed so badly.

"Sorry Ginny, but I really need to talk to Sirius about this first."

His emerald eyes found her chocolate ones, and for a moment they stopped and simply stared at one another. He felt the stress and tension of the conversation leaving his body, being replaced by a stillness and calm only invoked by the presence of Ginny. He could tell through her reactions that the same thing was happening to her.

Harry had been avoiding Ginny for a few days, although from afar he occasionally caught himself admiring her hair and wishing he could be close enough to always look so deep into her eyes. It was mesmerizing, and he found himself gaining more and more impressions of her personality traits, likes and dislikes even though he had never realized these things before.

Just as Harry was trying to decide whether or not to breach the subject with her, Ron entered the room carrying a massive plate of sandwiches while still managing to eat the one in his hand.

"Ron, do you EVER stop eating?" Hermione's reproachful voice broke the silence, causing Harry and Ginny to burst out laughing at Ron's facial expression.

After dinner that night, Harry cornered Sirius just as he was about to go back upstairs for a shower.

"Er, Sirius, could I have a word with you in private?"

Sirius looked confused, but nodded and led Harry upstairs to his old room, decorated with so many Gryffindor banners and colors that it was almost impossible to see the silver and green wallpaper underneath. He cast a silencing charm on the door and imperturbable charm before turning back to Harry.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Ever since I was little, I've had dreams about the night my parents were murdered. Flashbacks. I'd see Voldemort come in and kill my mother, and then the dream would end with a flash of green light directed towards me."

Sirius visibly cringed when Harry mentioned the death of his mother, but motioned for him to go on, eyes tightened in pain.

"I haven't had these dreams in awhile, but I did last night and I remembered a lot more of it. I guess what I'm asking is…what really happened that night? What happened to my parents bodies? Do they have a grave?"

Sirius sat in stunned silence, and Harry could see him grappling for words, trying to piece his thoughts together while covering the deep grief he still felt at his parents death.

"Harry…I was only there for the aftermath. I don't know what happened while Voldemort was there. I remember arriving there to see you in Hagrid's arms, and learning that Dumbledore was sending you to the Dursleys. Lily's body was there, but nobody touched it while I was there. I never saw James' body. I assume it was downstairs somewhere."

Sirius choked up at the last part and was silent for a few moments, before gazing back up at Harry.

"They do have graves, in Godric's Hollow. I've only been once, but I don't know if the graves are empty or not Harry, if that's what you're asking. Dumbledore may know the answer."

Harry nodded, and both men were lost in their thoughts until they heard Mrs. Weasley yelling up the stairs for Sirius to help them with another dark magical artifact downstairs.

"I guess we better go help then, before she has kittens."

Sirius chuckled, and embraced Harry before saying "Your parents were good people, Harry. Good honest people. You've inherited the best of both of them, don't forget it."

They went downstairs and Ginny glanced at Harry, who nodded to show that everything had gone ok. She smiled slightly, and Harry felt a pull in his stomach that had nothing to do with the dinner he just ate.

Covering up his distraction, Harry observed Sirius handling a large locket with an engraved S on it that refused to open. Sirius shrugged as he gave up and tossed it in the rubbish sack.

"Anything else that doesn't cooperate, toss it. I don't need reminders of my heritage" he said bitterly, before going back up the stairs.

Mr. Weasley arrived back from work via floo late that night, and found Harry up in his room, losing terribly to a game of Wizard's chess.

"Harry, I just needed to let you know that your hearing is tomorrow, so be sure to be up early and dress appropriately."

Harry's nerves suddenly returned as he looked at Mr. Weasley, who saw the fear in his eyes.

"No worries Harry, there's nothing legally that they can do. You'll be cleared. Just tell your side of the story, and that's all there is to it." Mr. Weasley gave a reassuring smile and left.

Harry had quite a difficult time going to bed that night.

The next morning, Harry had his hearing for the patronus. He was tried by the full Wizengamot who still apparently believed that he was full of rubbish. Professor Dumbledore thankfully defended Harry, and pointed out the serious breaches in law that the Ministry was making in order to accuse him. The most interesting part was that the end vote cleared Harry of all charges, and he left the courtroom with a skip in his step.

Mr. Weasley had waited outside the courtroom, anxious to find out the results of the hearing. But upon seeing Harry's broad smile, no explanation was necessary. Mr. Weasley had more work to do that day (something about regurgitating toilets), but he dropped Harry off at Grimmauld Place via floo powder to tell the news himself.

In the kitchen, it seemed every inhabitant of Grimmauld Place had gathered to hear the news. As soon as he slid out of the fire, Ron hoisted him up and started bombarding him with questions as Harry began dusting ash off of himself. Mrs. Weasley berated him and told him to be quiet, and the room silenced as they waited for Harry to speak.

"Well." He smiled "I've been cleared of all charges!"

A roar of congratulations and hugs and pats on the back engulfed him, but the one person he was looking for was standing just to the left behind the crowd. Ginny looked at Harry with shining eyes, and he could see that she was happy for him- they had plenty of time while cleaning to discuss his fears of the trial.

Without another word, Harry began to make his way towards her and once there was a clear path she ran and jumped into his arms for a hug. Wolf whistles came from the twins upon seeing this, but nothing more until Harry had set Ginny down. One look into her eyes, and that told him all he needed to know.

He kissed her.

He was aware somewhere in the back of his mind that the kitchen had gone quiet, that it was occupied with almost her entire family including her mother and 5 older brothers. But none of that registered right now. No thoughts could enter his mind.

As soon as their lips touched, every impression and feeling that he had received since arriving at Grimmauld Place exploded back at him, telling him everything about her- personality, history, everything. A warm feeling spread around his body, and even as he released her, he still was captured in her eyes and no amount of reality could pull him away.

A gasp behind them broke them out of their reverie, and Mrs. Weasley stood staring at them. Harry looked down and realized a soft golden light had been steadily getting brighter and brighter around their hands, before fading. Harry gazed around, and saw her brothers looking dumbstruck and Hermione looking quite pleased.

The fire flashed green, and Professor Dumbledore emerged. After wiping soot off of his midnight blue robes, he took in his surroundings and the silence, before his eyes rested on Harry and Ginny. That twinkle that was always present over his half moon spectacles was out in full force, and he smiled as Mrs. Weasley asked him if it was possible.

"Er, sorry everyone, but what's possible?" Ginny asked timidly.

"Miss Weasley, we have much to discuss," began Dumbledore with a smile, but Mrs. Weasley interrupted him.

"Albus, this is a myth. It's not possible. It's only been heard in stories!"

"On the contrary Molly, Harry's own parents were the first in centuries to be bonded in such a way. Surely it doesn't surprise you that their son would also have the inclination to do so."  
>Mrs. Weasley fell silent, and Dumbledore strode over to where Harry and Ginny stood, no longer wrapped in each other's arms but still holding hands.<p>

"If you two would come with me please, we need to talk about what just occurred."

The pair turned red as they contemplated sharing the feelings behind a kiss with Dumbledore, but they knew it was more than that and followed him towards the fire.

"We will be back before dinner, Molly. No need to worry."

The last glimpse that Harry and Ginny caught of the kitchen was the Weasley family in various stages of disbelief, and Sirius grinning wildly.


	4. Chapter 4 Explanations from the Past

CHAPTER 4- EXPLANATIONS OF THE PAST

Harry and Ginny arrived in Dumbledore's office, not even realizing that they were still holding hands even through the Floo. Dumbledore strode behind his desk and conjured a squishy red loveseat for the two of them before turning and picking a spindly instrument up off of a table behind his desk.

The pair sat down silently, gazing around at the collection of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses. As was the usual practice, they all appeared to be in a deep slumber, although Harry knew that if he stared long enough he could catch one of them twitching an eye open.

Dumbledore sat in his seat after placing the instrument directly in the middle of his desk, and observed them for a moment over his steepled fingers.

"I'm sure you both are wondering why I barged into Sirius' kitchen only seconds after what appeared to be quite a display."

Ginny's cheeks flushed red, and Harry became suddenly very interested in the wood pattern of Dumbledore's desk. The professor chuckled, and gestured at the device before them.

"This device is a creation of my own, from over twenty years ago. It's purpose is to detect a surge of magic signifying that which is called a Soul Merge."

Ginny's eyes snapped up to meet the Headmaster's.

"Yes Miss Weasley. I realize exactly how outlandish this may seem. But I can assure you without doubt that, although rare, these bonds have occurred."

Harry felt an odd sense of recognition that was clearly not his own, since he was still completely lost. He glanced at Ginny who had sunk back into the cushion with an expression of shock and understanding.

"Er, Professor, I'm not sure I'm following."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry. "I'm not surprised, Harry. Children who grew up in wizarding families are very familiar with the myths of the Soul Merge, but since you grew up with the Dursleys, it does not surprise me that the subject is new to you.

"There are magical stories, that which muggles call fairy tales, where two individuals' magical signature is so close of a match to each other that it draws the witch and wizard to each other. As they begin to interact, the signatures grow closer together until one final powerful emotion causes them to mix and bond together."

He paused to let this information sink in before continuing.

"Merges such as these have not been seen in centuries, until a very special couple attended Hogwarts. It is through them that I have been able to gather so much information about the merge, and I am now able to tell you what to expect.

"The first would be a drastic increase in power. Before the merge, the magic produced by both of you individually showed a high amount of power and talent. Now that your magical signatures have been mixed, your magic will be almost completely combined. I have no doubt that the pair of you could match me in a duel if you so wished. The catch, so to speak, is that you are no longer two individual entities. If you, Harry, were to cast a powerful enough spell, then Ginny would be weakened instead of yourself. It will take a great deal of self control to avoid going overboard and causing harm to your partner."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore answered his question before the words were formed.

"If you both managed to cast a simultaneous spell, it would most likely have double the power but would be more draining on your energy. You would not be able to sustain it as long together."

"Professor, what happens if one of us is somehow subjected to the Dementor's kiss?" asked Ginny quietly.

Dumbledore frowned. "That is an unprecedented event, but I have no doubt it would effect the both of you. I suggest we not test that theory."

Harry nodded. After his encounter with Dudley, he had no intentions of ever allowing a dementor near Ginny, especially since they seem to have joined Voldemort.

"Fortunately, the both of you seem to have entered a relationship and so this next bit will not present as much of a problem as it could have been. I'm sure for at least a few weeks you have been able to feel emotions or inklings as to the personality traits of the other- now that the merge has begun, you will be able to feel each other at whim. You will always know where the other is, and if trouble befalls them."

Ginny let out a small laugh. "That ought to be useful, Professor. We seem to find quite a bit of trouble."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled rather brightly. "Indeed." He then sighed.

"There are also some legal ramifications of such a merge. The ministry detects underage magic through recognition of magical signatures- since yours has changed, they can no longer detect your magic. This is not something I recommend you tell your mother", directing his last comment towards Ginny.

"Your merge will get stronger over time, and you may be able to telepathically access the thoughts of each other at the height of the bond. We will have to wait and see what happens, as I only have one good precedent of an event such as this."

Harry stared at the wall behind the professor, eyes unfocused, contemplating the next few months. He had intended on dating Ginny, that much was true. But having a merge like this, it becomes a larger commitment than he was planning on. Dumbledore was practically telling them that they were made for each other- with such a bond, it's not like they could ever break up.

While Harry was busy sorting out his thoughts, Ginny was wondering what other couple at Hogwarts could possibly have had such an event happen to them. She voiced this inquiry to Dumbledore a few moments later.

Harry looked up at this question, finding the professor deep in thought. He swore that Dumbledore glanced at him before slowly replying.

"Miss Weasley, I hope you can understand that I swore to keep their identities secret until such time as they can be revealed. Perhaps in due time you will learn of them."

Though they were slightly disappointed, they knew that unless Dumbledore saw fit to tell them that they would not be able to get any more information on the subject. They continued to speak for another hour, and Dumbledore informed them that over the course of the school year they would need to have special lessons with himself and possibly Professor McGonagall to learn how to control their newfound power. It was mid-afternoon before they parted, and entered the Floo to face the rest of the Weasley family.

When they shot out of the fireplace in the kitchen, it was strangely empty. Ginny gave a questioning look just as yelling was heard up the stairs. Harry began to feel the nerves in the pit of his stomach, knowing that the situation was about to get a lot more interesting- he HAD just kissed his best mate's sister in front of his entire family. Ginny felt his nerves, and tried to calm him.

"Harry, look at me."

He met her eyes and immediately the butterflies calmed. He felt as if he could take on any challenge, and nodded to assure her that he was ready. She kissed him lightly on the lips, before taking a deep breath and facing the stairs.

"Let's go."

They walked up the stairs hand in hand, approaching the drawing room. They could clearly identify the voices of Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Mr. Weasley, and Sirius in what seemed to be a large yelling match. Pushing the door open silently, they saw Ron, Mr. Weasley, and Sirius facing off against Mrs. Weasley. The Twins and Hermione sat off to the side, watching the argument like a tennis match.

"SHE'S JUST A CHILD! SHE CANNOT BE BONDED TO A TEENAGE BOY AT HER AGE, PRACTICALLY MARRIED! I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS MERGE TO CONTINUE, WE MUST FIND A WAY TO BREAK IT!"

"YOU CAN'T BREAK IT!" roared Sirius. "YOU'LL KILL THEM BOTH!"

Mr. Weasley attempted to interrupt. "Molly, we really need to sit down and talk about this. We cannot break this merge- that much is obvious. We just need to talk to the kids and come up with a plan to make this work for everyone."

"Oh, so you're just going to let your only daughter be bonded eternally to a boy whose future is to face the Dark Lord time and time again?"

Harry's eyes dropped to the floor,

"Mum, how can you say that?" Ron shouted, appalled. Everyone turned to stare at him- it seemed he had remained quiet throughout the entire argument, and his parents had forgotten he was present. The tips of his ears turned visibly pink, but he forged on.

"Harry has been like a brother to me, and I know Dad thinks of him as a seventh son. Have you forgotten the Chamber of Secrets? Harry risked his LIFE for Ginny, a girl he met once or twice. He's such a noble prat that Ginny would have to bat-bogey him in order to see any action."

Ginny snorted at this, and everyone in the room spun around, finally realizing that Harry and Ginny had been standing in the doorway.

"Harry, Ginny- have you been with Dumbledore all this time?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yeah Dad, he was explaining the finer points of the merge. We were just coming up here to explain it to you, but it seems that we interrupted a bit of an argument" said Ginny.

Ron laughed harshly. "A bit of an argument?" He quailed under the glare he received from his mother, and shrank back against the wall by Hermione.

"Kids, we need to have a discussion with Harry and Ginny alone. If you would please go to the kitchen, we'll be down in a bit to prepare dinner."

Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione filed out the door and down the stairs, Sirius shutting the door quietly behind them. The click seemed to have doubled in volume with the silence in the room.

Mr. Weasley pointed his wand at the door and muttered an incantation that caused the door to glow pale yellow for a moment.

"It should ward off any Extendable Ears that Fred and George may have hidden" he explained to Harry and Ginny.

An awkward silence followed, as nobody seemed ready to start what promised to be a very difficult discussion.

"Mrs. Weasley?" Harry's voice was quiet, but Mrs. Weasley's head turned to look at him so fast it was as if he had magnified his voice and yelled in her ear. He hesitated for a moment.

"Do you really think that I'm not good enough for Ginny? That I hadn't thought through every possible consequence of dating her, including Voldemort?"

Molly's face turned pink, and she averted her eyes. Harry continued.

"Since my 2nd year at Hogwarts, I've always seen you both as the parents I've never had. Mrs. Weasley, I thought that after everything you'd be able to trust me."

Mrs. Weasley walked across the room to Harry, and placed one of her hands on his cheek.

"Harry, I do think of you as a son. My mouth got carried away with me. It's just…" her voice broke, and she looked down for a moment before continuing, "..it's just that I've heard stories about these merges and I don't think Ginny is old enough to go through something like that. Neither are you for that matter! It could be dangerous, you could-"

"MOM!" Mrs. Weasley broke off, and looked back over at Ginny.

"We just spent a good amount of time speaking to Dumbledore about exactly this merge involves. He has actual EVIDENCE to back up his claims, unlike the stories that you're basing your opinion on."

"Well why don't you tell us what's going on with you two?" suggested Sirius. "I for one feel completely out of the loop."

Harry and Ginny spent an hour in the drawing room with Mr and Mrs. Weasley and Sirius, explaining everything that Dumbledore told them. Sirius became rather distracted and left the room in a hurry muttering something about Buckbeak not being fed. When they finished, Mrs. Weasley apologized to the pair of them for her words (especially after repeated assurances from Harry and Ginny that the merge was not based on physical intimacy). Mr. Weasley assured them that if they ever needed anything, he would be there to help if he could.

Dinner that night was a loud and boisterous affair, with the family now aware of Harry and Ginny's relationship. Fred and George took great pleasure in threatening Harry with various products they had been developing if he ever hurt Ginny, while Ginny berated them for trying to intimidate him. Sirius laughed at their attempts and congratulated Harry and Ginny. The only one who didn't speak was Ron, who headed up to their room immediately after clearing several helpings from his plate.

Harry assured Ginny that he would talk to him in their room, and shared quite a passionate kiss in front of Ginny's room until they heard the telltale sounds of Mrs. Weasley's footsteps on the stairs. They broke apart, and Harry said a quick goodnight before hurrying up to his and Ron's room.

Ron was sitting on his bed, idly flipping through an old Quidditch magazine that they found in Sirius' room. He didn't look up when Harry entered the room, and only acknowledged his presence when Harry threw a pair of socks at his head to get his attention.

"What do you want, Harry?"

Harry sighed. Ron was his best mate, but sometimes his moods were completely unpredictable.

"You were the only one not to speak at dinner, and normally you're the loudest. What's up? Is this about Ginny and I?"

Ron put up his magazine and turned to face Harry.

"Kind of." Harry encouraged him to go on.

"Look, I know what my parents told us about that bond and that you would never hurt Ginny. But she's my little sister, and I have to know if you're set on this."

"Er…." Harry wasn't sure what Ron meant by being "set on this".

"I mean…I remember last year, you were all moony for Cho, and I wasn't sure…."

Harry let out a bark of laughter.

"Cho?" he said incredulously. "That's what you were worried about?"

"Ron, I haven't even thought about Cho since the final task last year. It's been the last thing on my mind. So yes, I'm rather 'set on this', as you so eloquently put it."

Ron's ears turned red, but he grinned at Harry.

"Good to know mate. We should probably get to bed though, Mum is getting ready to do her bed checks and we have a lot more cleaning to do tomorrow."

When Harry's head hit the pillow that night, he knew that his future had been irreversibly changed, and that he would not have had it any other way.


	5. Chapter 5 The Talk

CHAPTER 5- THE TALK

The days flew by at Grimmauld Place until it was finally time for the Weasley Feast, as Fred and George call dinner the night before they return to Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley certainly did not disappoint- nobody was allowed in the kitchen after breakfast, and throughout the afternoon the aromas of various dishes and desserts wafted through the house and caused mouths to water. Everybody had been given the day off from cleaning (much to Ron's relief), and Bill and Charlie were supposed to be stopping by for dinner. The entire Weasley clan would be home, minus the "horn-rimmed git", as Ron calls Percy.

A few nights before, Harry had made the mistake of asking where Percy was at dinner. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and left the room, leaving her sons to explain the situation to Harry. Percy, always being the ambitious one, had taken at job at the Ministry and renounced his family in favor of advancing his career. Mr. Weasley had glimpsed him a few times around the Ministry, but as a general rule father and son avoided each other.

Mrs. Weasley was not the only one with wild emotions. Sirius had begun to withdraw into himself as the end of summer approached. Being confined to the house due to his status as a mass murderer had taken its toll on Harry's godfather. Harry believed that having people around to keep him company had lessened the frustrations of being cooped up in such a dark place, but with term starting he'd be virtually alone all day. He spent the days leading up to term skulking around the mostly empty third floor, and sitting in silence with Buckbeak. It became worse when a letter from Hagrid had Buckbeak winging his way back to Hogwarts, something Sirius was bitter about even though he knew Buckbeak should not have to share this prison with him.

A few hours before the Feast, Harry found Sirius laying flat on his back in bed.

"Sirius?"

He sat up and turned to face Harry, who paused for a moment. Even though Sirius had been out of Azkaban for 2 years and gained back his generally handsome demeanor, certain thoughts had a tendency to bring about a haunted look in his eyes that made it seem as though he never left. Harry nearly shuddered before continuing.

"Are you going to stay holed up in this room for the rest of the day?"

Sirius gazed at him with expressionless eyes, and said nothing. Harry sighed and continued.

"I just mean….you're my godfather, the closest thing to a father I've had. I've only really been able to get to know you this summer, and I really don't want to spend my last day playing Exploding Snap or losing chess with Ron."

Sirius had looked away when Harry mentioned his father, and looked back with a slight smile on his face.

"I suppose you're right. I'm just not looking forward to being alone in this house all the time." He grinned. "What do you want to do?"

Harry shrugged, glad that his godfather had come around quickly enough.

"I didn't have anything in mind."

Sirius thought for a moment. "Well, we haven't really been able to have a real talk, man to man. Let's see if we can nick some food from the kitchen when Molly isn't looking, and we'll go to the study for awhile."

Harry lit up at the idea of just talking to his godfather for awhile, but he knew Mrs. Weasley would kill him if he disrupted her cooking today. He mentioned this to Sirius, who rolled his eyes.

"Harry, are you the son of a Marauder or not? Get your invisibility cloak and get down there!"

Twenty minutes later, after a close encounter with Mrs. Weasley and a bewitched spatula, Harry met Sirius in the study with some muffins from that morning and two Butterbeers. Sirius conjured two armchairs, since the only furniture in the room was a desk and some bookshelves, and they sat down.

"So Harry, how's Ginny lately?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Harry turned bright red and turned his face away from his godfather, which resulted in Sirius breaking into a loud round of laughter. He had caught them quite closely entwined in a deserted room on the third floor the other day, and had not ceased to remind Harry every single day since.

"Honestly, Sirius, it's been amazing," said Harry. "The soul bond has brought us so incredibly close together. Not to mention the fact that she's gorgeous, she plays Quidditch, and I really can't imagine being with anybody else."

Sirius smiled. Harry had the happiest expression on his face that he had ever seen on his godson, and if anybody deserved happiness it was him.

"Well, you guys have certainly gotten close physically as well."

When Harry flushed again, a certain thought came to Sirius' mind, and he froze before grinning wickedly. Harry saw his godfather suddenly break into a smile and felt apprehensive. Whatever caused Sirius to grin like that could not be good.

"Harry, you're a 5th year now…have you ever had 'The Talk'?"

Harry stared at Sirius in confusion, who only chuckled.

"I suppose now is a good time as any. It's time for us to talk about girls, Harry. Everything you need to know, top-" Sirius winked "-to bottom."

Harry groaned and sat back in his chair as he prepared for utter mortification.

Meanwhile, Professor Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk contemplating the mysteries that encompassed Harry Potter. The boy had been the center of quite a few major events in wizarding history- the disappearance of a dangerous wizard tyrant, quite a few rescue missions, the Triwizard tournament, not to mention the prophecy.

Ah yes, the prophecy. The key to the future of wizard-kind, all based on the actions of an underage wizard. Nobody alive was aware of the full contents besides the professor, but he was sure Voldemort knew parts of it. He sighed- Harry would have to be told soon, before it was too late. But why should he place this pressure on the shoulders of a fifteen year old wizard who had already witnessed so much?

Dumbledore was stirred out of his mental arguments when Fawkes the phoenix appeared with a flash on his desk bearing a piece of parchment from the Ministry. He took the parchment and quickly scanned it, confirming his suspicions. A soul bond, although rare, was considered similar enough to the marriage ceremony that it was counted as such in wizard law. As of two weeks ago, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were now legally married.

His first reaction was worry- what if Ginny Weasley (well, Potter) distracted Harry from the task that needed doing? The boy needed to be training, he needed to be prepared for the future!

Dumbledore mentally shook himself, and cut off that line of thought. He had not thought of manipulating someone as a weapon since the days he had been friends with Grindelwald, and was not about to slip back into that mindset. Harry was not even aware of his task yet! Besides, he had in his rambling forgotten the significance of their soul merge. Harry would be able to use that power, love, and support from Ginny before the end. He would have to.

He paled as the thought of alerting Mrs. Weasley to this development entered his mind. There were very few people in the world that the professor was scared of, and Mrs. Weasley made the list on account of her temper. Even being several decades younger, she sure knew how to deliver quite a tongue lashing.

No, he would keep this to himself for the time being, until Harry and Ginny grew old enough for marriage to be acceptable. With that, Dumbledore left his office for the kitchens in favor of a late lunch.

Harry emerged from the study completely embarrassed but thankful that Sirius had taken such initiative. He couldn't say that he hadn't considered such…activities…with Ginny, and now knew he would be ready when the time came. He smiled as light footsteps were heard behind him, and warm arms encircled his waist.

"Hey handsome."

Harry turned and put his arms around Ginny, pulling her close to him and kissing the top of her head. She looked up from his chest after a moment.

"So Harry, what were you and Sirius talking about? I was feeling some pretty odd emotions from you while playing Chess, and Ron was confused as to why I kept blushing at random moments."

Harry turned a bit pink, but decided honesty was the best policy as she'd get it out of him anyways. Ginny had a way of making him talk.

"I…er…Sirius decided to give me the talk."

She turned pink and giggled.

"That certainly explains a lot. Oh no…" Her face transformed into a horrified expression. "I bet my mother gives me the same talk tonight."

Harry chuckled, and said teasingly "Well, at least we'll both receive equal shares of embarrassment today."

She grinned. "We had better get down to the Feast then, before Mum has a cow. She sent me up here to fetch you two."

Harry looked at her in surprise. "Really? We've been up here that long?"

"Yes, you and your godfather were talking about sex for an hour and a half." She laughed and the expression on Harry's face. "Come on, before she suspects we're up to something."

Harry, wanting no reason to get on Mrs. Weasley's bad side, complied and soon the entire Weasley family was in the kitchen.

Dinner was loud and crazy as always, but the real excitement happened about halfway through the meal. Ginny noticed the looks the twins kept giving each other from across the table, but Harry was not quite as familiar with their scheming behavior and remained unaware. As he took a bite of his food, there was a large puff of purple smoke. Sitting in Harry's place was a canary, with bright Weasley-red feathers.

The table erupted in laughter. Apparently the twins had modified their latest tricks, Canary Creams, and made Harry their new test subject. When he molted a few moments later, he grinned at them and congratulated them on an excellent prank. Sirius kept telling Harry that he looked good with red feathers. Mrs. Weasley scolded them half-heartedly before shaking her head and allowing herself a small laugh.

After dinner, Mrs. Weasley called Ginny to help her clean up the dishes. Once everyone had left the room, she waved her wand at the sink before turning to face her daughter.

"Ginny, dear, I believe it's about time we had a bit of a talk."

Ginny blushed slightly, and shook her head as her suspicions from earlier were confirmed.

"Mum, really, you gave me the talk last year. I don't think it's necessary."

"Well, Ginevra, last year you did not have a serious boyfriend."

Ginny rolled her eyes and glared at her mother when she used her proper name.

"I remember everything you told me Mum. Besides, Harry and I aren't doing anything like that anytime soon."

"Well either way, you're too young. The merge may have brought you close emotionally, but that does not mean physical contact is necessary."

Ginny felt her anger rise. Physical contact wasn't necessary? Was her mother really this opposed to this relationship?

"Harry is my soul merge partner. It's very likely that we're going to be together for a very long time, and eventually Mother I think that physical contact will be necessary. And there's really nothing you can do about it."

Mrs. Weasley glared at her daughter, but knew she had a point.

"Harry may become my son-in-law eventually, but that does not mean I want grandchildren until you're out of school. Just please be careful," she pleaded.

Ginny relaxed. She could see her mother's concern, becoming pregnant with Bill while she was still in Hogwarts.

"Don't worry, Mum. Nothing like that is going to happen. Just trust us."

With that, Ginny left the kitchen to join Harry upstairs in Ron's room.

She walked through the open door to find that Harry was the only one sitting in front of a chess board.

"Ron went to dress for bed," he said. "Come in."

She sat on the bed next to him.

"What went on downstairs?" he asked softly. "I felt…embarrassment, followed by anger. Did your mom say anything about us again?"

Ginny sighed. She knew Harry was still upset about their encounter with her mum after their discussion with Dumbledore, and was afraid that she would reject their relationship regardless of the soul merge.

"No, she's just worried about us maybe getting too serious too quickly. It's a motherly thing, not something against us," she quickly explained, as Harry's expression darkened.

"She doesn't trust us," he stated.

"I think she still needs time to adjust. Maybe by Christmas she'll be a bit better," she said in a reassuring voice. She sent calm emotions towards Harry, who relaxed and leaned across the bed to her for a kiss that ended all too soon when the bathroom door opened and they heard Ron stomping up the stairs.

"Ginny, out. Time for bed, Mum is doing her checks."

"Goodnight, Ginny." Harry smiled and gave her a quick parting kiss before she ran out the door and up the stairs to the room shared with Hermione.

Ron shook his head and packed his chess set into his trunk before going to bed. He was snoring in minutes, but Harry lay awake thinking about Ginny. He could feel as she drifted off to sleep, a strange sensation of floating and still being attached to the ground. Focusing on that feeling, he began to drift off as well and dreamt of afternoons in the sun spent with his soul mate.

Harry woke early before the rest of the house the next morning. It was 5am, and not even Mrs. Weasley had stirred yet. He tried going back to sleep but found the task impossible, instead dressing silently and padding downstairs to the kitchen. He had always made breakfast for the Dursleys, so making breakfast for himself and the others was not a problem. Cooking gave him time to distract his thoughts and be at peace, if only for a few moments.

By the time the Weasleys and Hermione stumbled down the steps, there were heaps of bacon, omelets, pancakes, toast, and pitchers of juice set up on the table. Mrs. Weasley in particular was shocked.

"Harry, you shouldn't have made breakfast for all of us!"

"Mrs. Weasley, it's ok. I couldn't sleep, and I used to make breakfast for my relatives all the time. It's no problem, I assure you."

She frowned when he mentioned serving his relatives, but everyone sat at the table and enjoyed a large breakfast. Tonks and Kingsley arrived halfway through, acting as their escorts to King's Cross. After breakfast, there was a rush in the rooms to finish last minute packing before everyone was downstairs and ready to go.

The ministry was not as fond of Harry as they used to be given that Minister Fudge did not believe in the return of Voldemort, so transportation to King's Cross was arranged through use of a magically expanded muggle rental car (which Mr. Weasley assured his wife would be returned to normal before being taken back to the rental center). Everyone crammed into the SUV, and they arrived at King's Cross with ten minutes to spare.

Fred and George went through the barrier first, followed by Ron and Tonks, Harry and Kingsley, and Ginny with her parents. They stowed their trunks in a compartment before rushing back to the platform for a quick goodbye. Mrs. Weasley warned the twins against any new pranks at school ("If I receive even ONE owl from Professor McGonagall this year…"), and Mr. Weasley wished Harry and Ginny the best of luck with the year. He even gave Harry a hug like he did with the rest of his sons, something that caused Harry to blush and Ginny to smile brilliantly at her father.

Eventually the horn sounded and the students rushed back on the train. As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the platform, Harry could swear he saw a great black dog standing slightly behind the pillars, giving him an odd dog-like grin, before the platform disappeared and they were on their way to Hogwarts.


	6. Chapter 6 Hogwarts Knows All

CHAPTER 6- HOGWARTS KNOWS ALL

The train ride at Hogwarts was highly uneventful. Malfoy and his cronies didn't even stop by to provoke Harry, since Malfoy himself was in a prefect meeting with Ron and Hermione. Harry spent most of the ride sitting comfortably with Ginny, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood. Ginny introduced the boys to Luna, a rather odd Ravenclaw fourth year. Her father was the editor of a wizarding magazine called the Quibbler, which was well known for spouting facts about made up creatures and odd situations. Neville sat uncomfortably next to her, not sure what to make of her strange beliefs.

Midway through the trip, Ron and Hermione joined them back in their compartment and told them what was happening with the prefects.

"Of course, as soon as Malfoy stepped out of the compartment he began harassing first years," sniffed Hermione.

"Oh come on Hermione, you can't expect him to be Malfoy and not abuse power!" said Ginny.

They got changed into their school robes and waited for the train to stop. As they got off at the platform, Harry looked in the direction of the lake but couldn't seem to make out the form of Hagrid leading the first years to the rowboats. Traditionally, the first years sailed across the lake while the older students took the carriages up to the school. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione nabbed one of the last carriages, and it wasn't until they had reached the school and looked back that Harry noticed the black, skeletal horses pulling them. Harry stopped in his tracks and blinked several times before slowly approaching them. Ginny turned around when she felt his confusion and wonder, and Ron and Hermione stared at him.

"Er, mate…why are you walking towards the carriage like a zombie?" asked Ron.

"Ron, you can't see what's pulling the carriages?" asked Harry.

"No Harry, none of us can. The carriages are pulling themselves as always," Hermione said, looking at Harry as though he may be sick.

"It's alright," said a light voice behind him. Luna emerged from another carriage and walked up beside him. "I can see them too. You're just as sane as I am. See you at the castle."

Harry stared at Luna's retreating form before glancing back at the beasts. He could see their breath in the cold night air, and saw deep black wings folded up against their sides. They certainly looked real to him- perhaps Hagrid would know. Shrugging, he walked into the castle with the rest of the group and they took their places in the Great Hall.

"Ugh, why are they taking so long," moaned Ron, "I'm hungry!"

Harry caught Ginny's eye and they burst into laughter, joined by Hermione. As they recovered, Harry caught Ginny's hand under the table and encased it in his. She looked at him and smiled, and it took all of his willpower not to kiss her right there and then in the middle of the Great Hall with the entire staff and student body watching.

"Oi! Potter! Stop staring at my sister!"

Harry shook his head and glared briefly at Ron before facing the Head Table again. The first years had made their way in, led by Professor McGonagall, with the stool and Sorting Hat placed at the front of the Hall.

The students quieted, and Harry could practically feel the anticipation in the air. The brim of the Sorting Hat moved, and the song began.

_"In times of old, when I was new, _

_ And Hogwarts barely started, _

_The founders of our noble school _

_Thought never to be parted. _

_United by a common goal,_

_They had the selfsame yearning_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And pass along their learning. _

'_Together we will build and teach' _

_The four good friends decided. _

_And never did they dream that they_

_Might some day be divided. _

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor? _

_Unless it was the second pair _

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. _

_So how could it have gone so wrong? _

_How could such friendships fail? _

_Why, I was there, so I can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale. _

_Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry's purest.' _

_Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose_

_Intelligence is surest.' _

_Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those _

_With brave deeds to their name.' _

_Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot_

_And treat them just the same.' _

_These differences caused little strife_

_When first they came to light. _

_For each of the four founders had_

_A house in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so, _

_For instance, Slytherin _

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning just like him. _

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor_

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest_

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus, the houses and their founders_

_Maintained friendships firm and true. _

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony _

_For several happy years, _

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears. _

_The Houses that, like pillars four_

_Had once held up our school_

_Now turned upon each other and_

_Divided, sought to rule. _

_And for awhile it seemed the school _

_Must meet an early end. _

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend. _

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed _

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted. _

_And never since the founders four_

_Were whittled down to three _

_Have the Houses been united _

_As they once were meant to be. _

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score: _

_I sort you into Houses_

_Because that is what I'm for. _

_But this year I'll go further, _

_Listen closely to my song: _

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong. _

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether sorting _

_May not bring the end I fear. _

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs, _

_The warning history shows, _

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external deadly foes. _

_And while we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you…_

_Let the Sorting now begin. _

The hat became still again, and there was a shocked silence in the hall for a few moments. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I shall call your name, and you will sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Alcott, Travis!"

The sorting ended quickly with several new Gryffindors added to the table. Dumbledore rose.

"I know you must all be hungry, so I will save my words for after the feast. Tuck in!"

Heaps of food appeared on the tables, and the students began filling their plates. Ron was shoveling food into his mouth at a rate that rivaled anything Harry or Ginny had seen before, as Hermione watched with disgust.

"Well well, if it isn't Potter and the Weaselette."

Harry turned around to see Malfoy standing behind him, eyeing Harry and Ginny's linked hands. Ginny turned around on the bench as well, and her eyes narrowed.

"Malfoy. Why don't you go back to your Death Eater table where you belong," snarled Harry.

Malfoy smirked. "Well, no need to get so touchy. Although, if I had that for a girlfriend, I imagine I'd be irritated as well."

Ron and Harry would've jumped at Malfoy if Hermione and Ginny hadn't restrained them, and at that moment Professor Dumbledore stood up at the High Table. Malfoy shot them one last look before returning to the Slytherin table next to Pansy Parkinson.

"If he says one more word about Ginny, I will hex him into oblivion," growled Harry.

"I'll join you, mate," added Ron.

"Shush you two, Dumbledore is about to speak!" said Hermione.

The Great Hall became silent as Dumbledore surveyed the students.

"Welcome back all, to another year at Hogwarts. I trust you have been safe over the summer."

Several students at the Slytherin table snorted, earning glares from the other three tables.

"This year, we have some new additions to our staff. Professor Hagrid has needed to complete some personal work that will take the rest of this term, so his position will be filled by Professor Grubbly-Plank."

A very short, grey-haired witch with flyaway hair rose slightly from the table and waved to a general applause.

"The post of Defense Against the Dark Arts has been filled by Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary for the Minister. Please join me in welcoming her."

Another polite round of applause rang for a short, squat woman dressed in a frilly pink cardigan with a big black bow on her head. When she stood from her chair to accept the applause, she barely rose an inch higher than she had been on her seat. Harry heard a giggle from next to him, and looked down to see Ginny growing red with her hands over her mouth.

She saw him looking and gasped out, "She…Harry…she looks like a…like a toad!"

He took a second look and had to work to suppress his own laughter.

"Now, we have a few more announcements to make. Mr. Filch has-" Dumbledore broke off as a loud "hem hem!" echoed through the hall from behind him. Everyone turned to see Professor Umbridge emerging from behind the table, and making her way to the front where Dumbledore was standing.

"Thank you Dumbledore for my welcome," she simpered. "I would like to take this time to inform the students of the Ministry's position here at Hogwarts."

For the next fifteen minutes, the new Professor gave a boring, rehearsed speech that left most of Hogwarts (including a few Professors) becoming sleepy and inattentive. When she finished, Harry, Ron, and even Ginny turned to Hermione.

"Translation?" asked Ron.

Hermione sighed. "She's saying that the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

"Oh great," muttered Harry, just loud enough so Ginny could hear him. "Just another woman who can tell the Ministry what a pathological liar I am."

Harry had recognized the woman vaguely from his trial over the summer, only because she was one of the few people who were in favor of his conviction. He knew that she would not be on his side whatsoever. Dumbledore stood and retook his spot at the front of the hall.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for that enlightening speech. As I was saying, Mr. Filch has posted a list of all forbidden objects by the door to his office, and he encourages you to check the list if you have any questions. He also wishes for me to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out-of-bounds to all students."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed over to the section where the Twins were sitting.

"Welcome back again, now off to bed!"

Ron and Hermione stood to lead the first-years to the common room while Harry and Ginny slowly walked hand in hand out of the Great Hall. As they crossed the Entrance Hall to the staircases, Fred and George jumped on either side of them.

"So you two," said Fred, "what do you think of the toad?"

Harry and Ginny laughed. "So is everyone calling her that then?" asked Harry.

George shrugged. "Everyone who has ever seen a toad can see the comparison. I have a feeling her classes will be terrible."

"Ah but dear brother, then it's our job to make her classes interesting and induct her into Hogwarts!"

"What better way to do that than a prank?" they said simultaneously.

Ginny grinned at her brothers. "What are you going to do to her?"

Fred just winked and walked away ahead of them with George, the pair of them whispering excitedly.

"Somehow, I get the feeling that this prank is going to be soon," said Harry.

"Yeah, Gred and Forge were never ones for subtlety," Ginny laughed.

They slowly made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room (making several stops in broom closets and alcoves along the way), Ginny and Harry entered the Common Room red faced and laughing. Ron and Hermione were saving Harry's usual chair by the fire, but as none others were available, Ginny elected to sit on his lap. Ron looked like he was about to say something, but Hermione shot him a look and for once, he complied.

"So what do you imagine the Toad will do to Hogwarts?" asked Ron.

Hermione immediately got into lecture mode. "Dolores Umbridge is known for her extreme discrimination against those with less-than-Pureblood status and magical creatures, especially werewolves."

"I suppose it's a good thing Hagrid isn't here right now then," said Ginny.

"Speaking of which, does anyone know where he is?" asked Harry. He had missed Hagrid's familiar presence at Hogwarts- the gamekeeper had been the one to retrieve Harry from the Dursleys in his first year, and seeing Hagrid at Hogwarts was what made Harry truly feel at home.

"No, he's probably on a mission of some sort. You know-" Ron lowered his voice, "for the Order."

"That would make sense," said Harry.

Just as they were about to discuss Hagrid's whereabouts, Neville came tearing downstairs from the boys dormitories.

"Harry!" he exclaimed, "There's only four beds in the dormitory, and none of your things are up there!"

Harry and Ron rushed up the stairs with Neville behind them, only to discover the truth. Where there was once five beds there were now four, and Harry's own trunk and items were not in the room. Ron turned to Harry.

"Where are you supposed to sleep then?"

The boys were puzzled until Dean came upstairs and said the girls were asking for them. Harry and Ron went back downstairs, and found Hermione and Ginny at the foot of the girls stairs.

"Harry, my things and bed are missing too!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Could this be some sort of prank by the twins?" asked Harry.

"Nah, they know better than to mess with Ginny's stuff," said Ron.

"Maybe you can go see if Professor McGonagall is in her office," suggested Hermione. "You should be able to make it there before curfew if you take the usual shortcuts."

"Good point, Hermione. We'll be back." Harry reached for Ginny's hand, and together the two of them made their way through the halls to Professor McGonagall's office. Upon reaching her door, they saw it was slightly cracked open and voices were heard inside.

"…I just think that Mr. Potter should be closely monitored as far as his interactions with the student body," came Professor Umbridge's sweet yet threatening voice. "The boy is obviously an attention seeking liar, seeking followers."

"Harry Potter is an outstanding student and role model for his house and Hogwarts, and he poses no threat whatsoever to anybody within this school!" retorted McGonagall. Harry and Ginny had rarely heard her so irritated, and could only imagine the steely looks Umbridge was receiving. Harry's heart lifted a bit as he heard his Head of House defending him, and Ginny smiled at him when she felt his elation.

Fearing that the discussion would end and they would be discovered eavesdropping, Harry knocked on the door lightly.

"Enter."

Harry and Ginny pushed open the door, only to be nearly bowled over by Professor Umbridge. Her lip curled when she saw Harry, but she said nothing and waddled down the hall as fast as she could.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley, can I help you?"

The pair looked at Professor McGonagall for the first time, taking in her slightly red cheeks and narrowed eyes, and decided to cut right to the point.

"Professor, we were in Gryffindor tower and discovered that in our respective dormitories, there were only four beds and none of our items were in the dormitories," Harry explained quickly.

Professor McGonagall looked confused. "That is impossible, the Hogwarts elves send your belongings directly to your assigned rooms. There is no way your trunks could have gone missing."

"If it were just the trunks missing, Professor, we could easily search for them. It's the fact that our beds are not even in the rooms that makes the situation a bit more disturbing," pointed out Ginny.

McGonagall frowned. "You are correct, Miss Weasley. I believe we should pay a visit to Professor Dumbledore. He will know why Hogwarts has decided to take away your beds."

The professor stood up and walked out of her office, with Harry and Ginny following.

"Professor? You said that Hogwarts had decided to remove our beds. Wouldn't that be the decision of a staff member or the Headmaster?" asked Ginny.

McGonagall slowed her pace, and replied, "Hogwarts is a very old magical castle, Miss Weasley. It has magic of it's own that protects the students and provides for them in ways that Dumbledore himself has not yet fully discovered. If the castle has moved your beds to elsewhere, there is a legitimate reason for it."

Ginny nodded, and they continued their trek to the Headmaster's office. When they reached the stone gargoyle, Professor McGonagall said the password ("Sugar Quill") and they ascended the magical staircase. McGonagall rapped on the door to Dumbledore's office, and opened it after hearing a quiet "enter".

Dumbledore himself was sitting behind his desk with a cup of what appeared to be hot chocolate, perusing an ancient looking text filled with runes. He looked up in surprise when he saw that Professor McGonagall was joined by Harry and Ginny.

"Professor McGonagall, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley- what a surprise."

"Albus, Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley just informed me that their beds are missing from Gryffindor tower, along with all of their possessions. We were hoping you may have some indication of where they are supposed to be sleeping."

Harry was confused to see Professor Dumbledore visibly pale, and felt similar confusion from Ginny. Suddenly, Dumbledore waved his wand and the air in front of him was skewed with a number of red lines. His eyes widened in surprise, and with a wave of his wand the lines disappeared. Another wave, and three comfortable chairs appeared in front of his desk. McGonagall, Harry, and Ginny each took a seat and waited for Professor Dumbledore to speak.

"The spell that you just witnessed is an invention of my own that reveals all traceable rooms within the castle for whichever area I so choose. It has come to my attention that a new room has appeared at the top of Gryffindor tower, past the Head Boy and Girl's rooms."

The professor took a deep breath before continuing.

"In the past, such rooms appeared when the castle sensed certain powerful magical bonds between its occupants and was available for their use. A soul merge as powerful as yours certainly would not have escaped its notice, and it has therefore relocated your belongings into that room."

"Professor, certainly you are not suggesting that Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley are sharing a room?" asked Professor McGonagall indignantly.

"Actually, Minevra, they are well within their rights. I discovered some information that I was keeping from you until Harry was of age, but it seems the castle had other ideas."

Harry's eyes hardened, and he felt anger begin to spike in his system. So the headmaster was hiding things about his relationship?

Ginny felt Harry's anger and gave him a quick glance before gesturing for the Headmaster to continue.

"After the two of you left my office over the summer, I sent Fawkes to the Ministry to pick a document up for me so that no other could see it." He passed a piece of parchment to Professor McGonagall, who raised her eyebrows before passing it to Harry and Ginny. It read:

_MINISTRY OF MAGIC_

_CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE_

This Certificate hereby proclaims Harry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Weasley legally married due to soul merge.

August 15, 1995

Harry felt his jaw drop as he turned to stare at Ginny. Her hands were slightly shaking as she read and re-read the parchment. Married- she was _married_ to Harry! Her elation was transferred to Harry, who responded by pulling her close into her arms for a moment and just reveling in the moment. Suddenly, Ginny's mood turned drastically and Harry felt the same anger build up in her that he had earlier.

"Professor, you planned on keeping our marriage from us for two YEARS?" she asked. "Did my parents know about this?"

"I have not yet sought to inform your parents," he answered quietly, and Ginny did not fail to notice the complete avoidance of the question. However, she decided not to say anything.

"Professor, is there anything else you are keeping from us that we need to know?" Harry asked in a cold voice.

"No, Mr. Potter." However, Harry noticed that the professor had refused to meet his eyes.

"Professor Dumbledore, who was the previous couple with the soul merge?" asked Ginny.

Dumbledore's eyes tightened, and he carefully replied, "I'm sorry Miss Weasley, but it is late and that will have to be a discussion for another time."

"Mrs. Potter," said Ginny quietly. Harry surged with pride and love when he heard Ginny announce herself with his name. She nearly smiled at the power of the feelings coming from him, but her anger and frustration at the Professor for wanting to keep secrets about their relationship won out.

"Minevra, would you please take the Potters back to Gryffindor tower?" Dumbledore asked.

McGonagall nodded, having remained silent mostly through the revelations, and led the students out of the room.

It was a silent walk back to Gryffindor tower, and just before the Fat Lady portrait, Professor McGonagall stopped them.

"Mrs. Potter, I will be writing to your mother tonight about the situation. I do not approve of the headmaster withholding such information, and I'm sure breakfast tomorrow will be eventful as our headmaster will likely receive quite a lecture from her."

McGonagall allowed herself a small smile before continuing.

"I must ask you to conduct yourselves accordingly- sharing a room does not mean you are above the rules of the castle. I also must suggest that you inform your brothers of this development, so that Mr. Potter is not in danger of being hexed any more than usual."

Harry paled as he realized that he now had six older brothers-in-law, and shuddered to think what would happen if they realized he was sleeping with their sister.

McGonagall left them, so Harry and Ginny entered the Common Room. It was empty, so Harry assumed the Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep waiting for them. The pair ascended the stairs to the boys dormitories, going all the way to the top of the tower until they reached a heavy door. Harry pushed it open and led Ginny through.

They entered a medium-sized room with two desks and a small fireplace. Through another door, they saw a large four-poster bed with two wardrobes, and their own bathroom. The elves had taken the liberty of unpacking their clothes and placing their bath kits in the bathroom. Harry and Ginny took turns changing and getting ready for bed.

After looking around a bit more, Harry turned to Ginny.

"We really need to talk about this, you know."

Ginny stifled a yawn and nodded. "We should talk tomorrow when we're both not completely exhausted. For now, let's go to sleep."

Harry agreed, then paused at the edge of the bed. Ginny had crawled under the covers on one side, and looked at him expectantly. He awkwardly climbed in on the other side, and pulled her into his arms. They were asleep in seconds, and slept peacefully without nightmares for the first time in years.


	7. Chapter 7 The Weasley Wrath

CHAPTER 7- THE WEASLEY WRATH

Harry awoke the next morning to feel an usual but pleasant pressure on his chest. As he blinked his eyes open and gazing down, a fiery blur of red obscured most of his vision. Softly smiling, he remembered the events of the previous night. He wasn't just gazing at Ginny his girlfriend anymore- this is Ginny his wife. Ginny Potter. Just repeating that name in his head caused a broad smile to push its way onto his face, as in his mind it sounded so perfectly right. Regardless of his thoughts before the merge, Harry could never picture his future without the redhead in it. He felt a twinge of regret as he realized that all the proper steps that should be taken in a marriage were never accomplished. He never spoke to Mr. Weasley about marrying his daughter, he never actually proposed to Ginny, and Ginny doesn't even have a ring! A plan formulated in his mind as he felt Ginny stir slightly and felt her waking up. The next second, a pair of warm brown eyes looked up at his face and matched his wide smile.

"Hello", she said softly.

"Good morning, Mrs. Potter," he whispered.

At those words, immense happiness spilled over both of them. It was impossible to tell whose emotions were whose as they were so similar at that moment. Laying there against the pillows with Ginny, Harry realized he had never in his life been so content or at ease.

"I would kiss you good morning, but I don't think you want morning breath," she giggled.

He laughed in return. "That I wouldn't." She cuddled up against him again, and they were silent for a few moments before Harry spoke.

"What do you think about all this, Ginny?"

She turned to face him again with a thoughtful expression.

"At first when we heard it in Dumbledore's office, it seemed so far-fetched. I couldn't believe that this was happening. But when I thought about it last night as we were talking, I realized I couldn't picture living without you by my side," she explained quietly. Harry then felt a burst of worry from her, before she asked "What about you?"

He smiled again. "I was thinking the exact same thing as you this morning while I was watching you sleep. I think we just need to take it one day at a time." He glanced at the alarm clock next to him before cursing under his breath. "I think part of that includes making it to class on time."

As they were indeed running late, they grudgingly left the bed. Harry showered while Ginny dressed (preferring to shower at night), and they walked out into the living room of the suite.

"Where did that come from?" she exclaimed, pointing at a second door beside the one they entered from last night.

"I think that's the door to the girl's staircase," said Harry. He pulled the door open, revealing another set of stairs that confirmed his suspicions. Both were quite relieved at this.

"At least this will make it easier to avoid awkward questions," she said.

"Ginny, you do know that we're going to have to tell Ron and Hermione at some point."

"Yes, but the longer my brothers go without knowing about this, the easier life will be for us."

Harry agreed with her privately, but still thought that Ron had the right to know. His face paled as he came to another realization.

"Ron's going to realize I wasn't in my bed last night."

Ginny wheeled back around from where she had been at the edge of the stairs, understanding his panic. Ron may have been understanding about their relationship, but she couldn't imagine him not overreacting at their marriage or the fact that they were sleeping in the same room, not to mention the same bed.

"We'll tell him that you left early to see McGonagall and he didn't hear you leave this morning."

Harry agreed, and hoped with everything that he had that the Weasleys would accept the marriage without too many objections. Ginny descended the girl's staircase while Harry took the boys, meeting at the bottom and quickly kissing to give the appearance of seeing each other for the first time that morning. As they entered the Great Hall, Harry glanced up at the staff table to find Professor Dumbledore gazing at them intently. Doing his best to ignore the Headmaster, Harry and Ginny took seats across from Ron who appeared to have a mountain of food on his plate. Hermione shot her customary look of disgust at Ron's eating habits before going back to her toast.

"Where were you two last night?" she asked Harry as they sat down. "What happened to your beds?"

Harry cursed mentally. He had forgotten that his bed wasn't even present in the boy's dormitories which would make last night a lot harder to explain.

He was spared answering, however, by the arrival of the owl post. Ginny nudged him and glanced towards Professor Dumbledore. Following her eyes, Harry saw the Headmaster begin to grow slightly nervous, although it was invisible to those who did not know him as well. He relaxed slightly when no owls appeared before him. Harry spotted Hedwig winging her way towards him and cleared a section near his plate to land. She held out her leg, bearing a rather thick roll of parchment, before stealing some bacon off of his plate and taking off again to rest in the Owlery. The message was addressed to Harry and Ginny in Mrs. Weasley's handwriting. He nervously opened the letter and found three messages within the parchment. One was labeled for Harry, another for Ginny, and the last simply said "Both".

Harry glanced across the table at Ron, who had not yet noticed his mother's handwriting and was still attacking his eggs, to Hermione who was looking curious and ready to burst with questions.

"Professor Dumbledore us watching us," Ginny whispered in his ear.

Making his mind up, Harry quickly rose from the table.

"Ginny, fancy walking with me to the Common Room? I left my Potions textbook."

Understanding his intentions, she also rose from the table and hastily said goodbye to Ron and Hermione before heading towards the Entrance Hall. They ascended the stairs before reaching the Fat Lady and going up to their room. After the door slammed shut, Harry spun to face Ginny who had sat on the bed. She looked much paler than he had ever seen her, except in her first year when Harry had rescued her from the Chamber. Fear radiated from her, while she could feel anxiousness and nervousness from Harry. She fingered the letters clasped tightly in her hands.

"Harry, what if she tries to break us apart?" she whispered, almost inaudibly.

He took a deep breath. Mrs. Weasley's opinion meant a lot to himself and Ginny. If she did not approve, life could become quite complicated with the Weasleys.

"Ginny, nothing can break us apart. Your mother loves you and likes me as well. She will come to terms with it eventually."

"Likes you?" she said incredulously. "Harry, she already thinks of you as her seventh son."

"Then it should make this much easier."

She sighed, and set the letters down in front of her. "Let's read this one first," she said, gesturing towards the one labeled "Both".

Harry sat down on the bed next to her and leaned close to that they could read at the same time. She opened the parchment.

_Dear Harry and Ginny, _

_ I know you must be a tad nervous opening this, considering my past reactions._

"That's an understatement," grumbled Ginny.

_However, your father and I would like you both to know that we love you very much and we are happy for you both, regardless of the circumstances. I understand what I didn't before- that you're both very happy and I have no doubt that this would have happened sometime in the future anyways. _

"She's right about that" Harry murmured. Ginny turned to him with shining eyes and a blinding smile that he returned, before going back to the letter.

_Your father and I wrote letters to each of you individually, which was rather pointless I suppose since we know you'll both share them. Remember that we love you, and we'll see you soon. _

_ Love, _

_ Mom and Dad. _

_PS- If you're wandering why Professor Dumbledore has not yet received a Howler, it was a near miss. But your father managed to convince me that it would be better if everyone didn't know about your marriage from my yelling at your headmaster. _

Ginny snorted. "Of course she would want to send a Howler. He deserves it." She sighed. "But I suppose she's right, and I'm glad she didn't shout it out in front of the Great Hall."

Harry agreed. He didn't need Ginny being dragged into the rumor mill with him, even though it was bound to happen simply because they were dating.

"I wonder what she means by seeing us soon, though."

Harry shrugged, and reached for the letter with his name on it, handing Ginny hers as well. He tore it open and began to read.

_Dear Harry, _

_ I know what you must think of me right now, and if you don't trust me I understand. Just know that I want the best for you and that I love you like one of my own. This marriage only makes it official. I have no doubt that you can protect and take care of Ginny (as much as she'll let you that is). As fast as this was, you've always been a part of our family. _

Harry chuckled before continuing, noticing that the writing had changed to Mr. Weasley's quick scrawl.

_Harry- _

_ As Molly said, you've always been a part of the family. I understand that it is traditional for a man to ask the father for his daughter's hand, but I want you to know that whether tomorrow or ten years from now, I would have said yes every single time. She is my baby, my only daughter. It is incredibly difficult to let her go, but I know she could not be with a better or more deserving man. If you ever need anything, we are always here for you Harry. _

_ We love you, son. _

_ -Molly and Arthur _

As Harry reached the end of his letter and slowly folded it back up, he wiped the remnants of the tear tracks on his face. Ginny finished her letter at the same time and looked as she tried to decipher the feelings coming from Harry. At first there had been humor, followed by relief, love, joy, and strangely sadness. He looked up to meet her eyes, and saw her questioning look.

"Wherever I've been in the world, I've always felt…as if I didn't belong to one specific place. I was just there," he began to explain, forming his words carefully. "Your parents just reminded me that you are the only true family I have ever known, and under the circumstances I don't think I could ever find a better one- nor would I want to."

"But then- oh." Comprehension dawned on Ginny's face, and she enveloped him in a hug worthy of her mother. While her family was the most amazing thing to Harry, he couldn't help but think about having these discussions with his own parents. He dragged his hands through his hair and got his emotions under control before they broke apart and made their way downstairs for class.

"So what did your parents have to say to you?" Harry asked, guiltily remembering that she had received a letter as well.

Ginny ignored the guilt, and replied, "Nothing new, just that they love us both and er…that we better not have grandchildren anytime soon." She said the last part quickly before her face turned the signature Weasley red.

Harry turned red as well, and gave a nervous laugh. "No need to worry about that yet."

He walked Ginny to Charms and said a quick goodbye before sprinting through the corridors to Potions. He made it in the door with seconds to spare before Professor Snape emerged from his office and flicked his wand at the door, which slammed shut. Ron shot Harry a confused look as he sat down and pulled out his potions kit, not looking forward to the hour he would be spending in the dark dungeons classroom.

"5 points from Gryffindor Mr. Potter, for not having your supplies out on time."

Harry felt anger begin to build in his chest, but he pushed it down as he had hundreds of times when faced with Snape's injustices. It was made easier by Ginny sending him relaxing, cool emotions that allowed him to think clearly and focus on the lesson.

"Today, we will be brewing the basic poison antidote used by St. Mungos on those patients who have received minor poisons. In 5th year, we learn to recognize various common poisons by their traits, and how to counteract them. Instructions are on the board, get to work."

As Snape prowled the classroom, searching for Gryffindors to torment, Harry and Ron managed to brew an ideal poison antidote that fit the description of the textbook. Harry corked three vials of the antidote- one to be turned in, and the other two placed in his potions kit. He had recently decided to make a collection of any useful potions they made in case they were needed.

The bell rang and the Gryffindors quickly exited the classroom while the Slytherins, who remained uncharacteristically quiet, walked quietly out behind them. Harry and Ron met Hermione at Defense Against the Dark Arts, where nearly every Gryffindor was discussing Professor Umbridge.

"She's going to be ruddy terrible," groaned Ron. Hermione opened her mouth to counter him, but Harry got there first.

"I agree mate, that toad was at my hearing and she was one of the ones who wanted me convicted!" He shook his head. "I don't envision this year being a learning experience, especially since she's trying to take over Hogwarts."

The door opened just then, ending all conversation as the class silently filed in. It was tradition that the first day of class they were on best behavior until they understood what kind of a teacher they were dealing with. Harry and Ron shared a desk, while Hermione sat in front of them with Lavender Brown. Professor Umbridge was standing in front of her desk, coolly eying the class before pointing at the chalkboard.

"Ordinary. Wizarding. Level. Examinations." She stopped, gauging the effect on the class, before continuing.

"This term will be spent preparing you for the exams that will propel you into a great career, all in a safe learning environment." Her course syllabus had written itself on the board behind her, which nobody paid attention to except Hermione. She had opened her mouth to speak again when Hermione raised her hand.

"Miss…?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering what you meant when you said "No Magic" under your course syllabus."

"Why, I thought that was perfectly clear Miss Granger. There will be no magic used in my classroom."

The class was shocked, staring at their teacher. A moment passed before Hermione shot her hand up again. Umbridge looked around the classroom, looking slightly annoyed, before calling on her again.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"But Professor, the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL has a practical portion! How are we supposed to pass the practical part of the exam if we can't practice the spells you teach us?"

"Miss Granger, in this classroom we will have a safe, learning environment. If you understand the theory behind the spells, which is what we will be learning, then you will be able to cast the spell."

"So you're telling us that the first time we perform these spells will be on the OWL exams?" exclaimed Dean.

"Do not speak in class without raising your hand, Mr…?"

"Thomas, ma'am."

"As I said, we will not be practicing magic in this classroom. I am aware that you have had inept teachers in the past, including a half-breed, convicted Death eater, and a rubbish author. Professor Quirrel seemed to be the only teacher who was competent enough."

Harry snorted quite loudly at this, and her head quipped around until her gaze was fixed on him.

"Do you disagree, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Professor," he said, making the words sound like an insult.

"And what was it that causes you to disagree?"

"Well, Professor Lupin was a werewolf but he taught us more than our first and second year teachers combined. Professor Moody was a Death Eater, but we learned loads of defensive magic from him regardless of his motives. Professor Lockheart was a fraud, yes, but Professor Quirrel was certainly not our best teacher."

The class was nodding their heads, agreeing with his words while Professor Umbridge stared at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, it is my opinions and not yours that matter in this classroom. Professor Quirrel has done nothing to show me that he has not been a competent teacher, unlike my predecessors."

"Oh, besides the fact that he had LORD VOLDEMORT sticking out of the back of his head," he shot back sarcastically.

The class was watching the conversation as if a ping pong tournament was being played, eyes switching from teacher to student.

"Detention, Mr. Potter. Do not spread your lies in this classroom."

Ron placed a hand on Harry's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, but Harry shoved it off and stood up furiously. In the back of his mind, Harry felt Ginny attempting to calm him down, but shoved that aside as well and focused only on the toad-like Professor before him.

"So I suppose you think Cedric Diggory's death was an accident, then? A blunder of his own? A mistake?"

A few students gasped. Cedric Diggory's death was clearly still fresh in their minds from last year. Professor Umbridge straightened herself up.

"Mr. Diggory's death was tragic, but certainly not because of some lies concocted by you about the Dark Lord returning."

"They're not lies, Voldemort HAS returned, and we need to be able to defend ourselves against him!" he yelled.

"That's a week's worth of detention, Mr. Potter." Umbridge turned and waddled to her desk, writing a short note on a piece of pink parchment before sealing it and handing it to him.

"Leave my class and take that directly to Professor McGonagall in her office."

"Gladly," he spat, as he grabbed his bags and turned on his heel, marching out of the class. Once out in the hall, the anger coursing through him began to subside as trepidation took its place. His Head of House was not to be trifled with. He made it to her office and hesitated before knocking.

The door opened after a moment, and Professor McGonagall surveyed him before gesturing for him to come inside. To his shock, Ginny was also there sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. A tin of biscuits was lying open. She turned and saw him, shooting out of the chair and wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Are you ok? I could feel your anger in Transfiguration, and I had to tell Professor McGonagall because I kept feeling like I would rather blow up the parrot I was practicing on than turn it into a water goblet. What happened?" She was speaking into his shoulder and so the words were muffled, but Harry understood her intent. Before he could reply, Professor McGonagall re-entered the office and took her seat on the opposite side of the desk.

"That, Mr. Potter, is an excellent question."

Harry told the story of his encounter with Umbridge, as Ginny listened in surprise.

"So that cow tried to tell you that you were lying about last year?" she exclaimed. She glanced guiltily at McGonagall. "Sorry, Professor."

"No apologies necessary, Mrs. Potter", said McGonagall.

Harry held out the scroll from Umbridge for McGonagall to read. After doing so, she dropped it on the desk and looked up at Harry darkly.

"You have detention every day this week, and she wants you to be kept under close supervision at all costs, because it seems Mr. Potter that your 'slanderous lies' and 'maniacal temper' are quite a danger to the student body."

Ginny burst out in giggles before she could help it, and Harry wasn't far from joining her. Even the edge of Professor McGonagall's mouth twitched.

"As amusing as her words are, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, they present a real problem for the future. You cannot let Dolores Umbridge control your life, and by letting your anger get to you she's able to do just that," she explained. "Now, I will happily ignore her suggestion to monitor you, and you must attend the detentions, but if you have any other problems I'd rather you come to my office than take your anger out on Professor Umbridge."

Harry nodded in agreement, and reached for Ginny's hand. She took it, and sent him more relaxing feelings. He knew she would be invaluable if he had to control his emotions for the next few months. They looked back up at Professor McGonagall, who's expression had softened. The moment was interrupted by a flash of fire in the center of McGonagall's desk, which disappeared just as quickly and left only a red phoenix feather and a piece of parchment. Professor McGonagall picked it up and quickly read it.

"Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, Professor Dumbledore requests your presence in his office immediately."

"Thank you Professor," Harry said, as they rose and left the office. The corridors were empty as they walked towards Professor Dumbledore's gargoyle. After saying the password and riding up the staircase, Harry raised his hand to knock.

"Enter, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

They opened the door and entered Dumbledore's office, which had remained just the same as the night before. The portraits of old Headmasters and Headmistresses the adorned the walls were still in their fake slumber, although Harry was sure they had interrupted a conversation.

"Have a seat."

After doing so, silence ensued for a few moments as Dumbledore sat behind his desk and studied them. Harry was about to ask what they were there for when the fireplace behind them turned a brilliant green, and Mrs. Weasley emerged. She quickly brushed herself off before storming up to the desk and standing next to Ginny's chair, a furious expression on her face. Harry saw Mr. Weasley emerge from the fireplace a few seconds later, looking worried.

"ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE, HOW DARE YOU?"

To Harry and Ginny's amusement, Dumbledore had turned quite pale as the Weasley matriarch confronted him. "Now Molly, I-"

"YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO KEEP THIS FROM OUR FAMILY! WE COULD HAVE DISCOVERED THIS WEEKS AGO AND DEVISED A SOLUTION, BUT NOW IT'S BECOME A SITUATION AT HOGWARTS!"

Dumbledore tried to get a word in, but Mrs. Weasley was not done yet.

"HOW DARE YOU WITHOLD INFORMATION ABOUT MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE? HOW DARE YOU KEEP HARRY IN THE DARK AFTER ALL HE'S BEEN THROUGH! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER, ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!"

Having given up all semblance of an argument, Professor Dumbledore sat in his chair and listened, like a chastised child. Mr. Weasley walked up behind his wife and placed his hands on her shoulders, knowing that it would calm her down.

It did, and she turned finally to see Harry and Ginny sitting in the chairs staring at her with a mixture of amusement, awe, and pride. She gave one more glare at Dumbledore before smiling at them and pulling them both up off the chairs into her infamous hug. Harry felt another pair of arms wrap around them, and saw Mr. Weasley out of the corner of his eye. They were released after a few seconds, and Harry broke the silence first.

"Thank you for your letters, Mr and Mrs. Weasley- they meant a lot to us. To me."

"Harry, I know you may not wish to call us Mum or Dad, but at least Molly and Arthur from now on, ok?" Mr. Weasley suggested.

Harry considered it, and nodded his head. "Thank you…Arthur." They shook hands.

Ginny wrapped her arms around her father. "Dad, you don't have to be worried for us. I'm happy. I love Harry, and we'll make it through this."

Mrs. Weasley wiped away a tear that had escaped, and Mr. Weasley gazed down at his daughter as if she was the most precious jewel in the world.

"I know, sweetie. And like I said to Harry- you couldn't have been with a better man."

They stepped out of the embrace, and Mrs. Weasley gave them an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry dears, we have to be going, but we're glad that you're both alright and we hope all this secretive business-", another glare for Dumbledore, "-is over with."

Dumbledore seemed to shrink a bit in his chair under her eyes, a sight that Harry had never seen before, and after a few more goodbyes the Weasleys had flooed back to the Burrow.

"Professor, is there anything else you need to tell us? Anything else you might be holding back about our relationship?"

There was a slight hesitation. "No Harry. Nothing at all," replied Dumbledore, with an air of caution.

"Thank you sir."

Ginny and Harry left his office just as lunch was beginning. Making their way to the Great Hall, they spotted Ron and Hermione already at the table and sat across from them again.

"Harry! There you are! What happened with Professor McGonagall?" asked Hermione.

"Well, I have detention every day for a week."

"That's not too bad, mate, considering what happened in that class and what Umbridge could've done to you," Ron replied.

Harry shrugged. "I suppose."

"Alright there, squirts?" Fred and George had materialized behind Harry and Ginny, and were leaning down close to them.

"Heard you got Umbridge pretty irritated today Harry," Fred whispered.

"Don't worry- her welcome prank is about to begin," added George, with a wink. He stole some food off of Ginny's plate, dodged her hand as she tried to slap him, and they made their way to the other end of the table.

"Wonder what it is they're going to do," said Hermione.

"I guess we'll wait and see."

Lunch went according to normal, until towards the end.

BANG!

A puff of green and purple smoke engulfed the seat where Umbridge was sitting, and it was empty when it cleared. The teachers looked around in confusion until they looked down at the table. There, sitting next to her plate of soup, was a toad the size of a bowling ball with a black velvet bow on top of its head.

Several of the staff were visibly fighting to withhold laughter. Professor Dumbledore himself chuckled for a moment before pointing his want at the toad and whispering a countercurse. With a flash of light, Professor Umbridge reappeared…only this time on top of the head table rather than in her chair. Her left arm was still outstretched as if reaching for her tea, and Dumbledore's face quickly turned to stone as he saw the black skull branded into her arm.


	8. Chapter 8 Possibilities

CHAPTER 8- POSSIBILITIES

The Great Hall was completely silent. The students rapidly looked from Umbridge to Dumbledore, who seemed to be locked into an intense staring contest. Neither moved a muscle, not even to blink although sweat was visibly beading along her forehead. Her left forearm was clearly visible to the entire hall, bearing the signature black skull and snake branded onto only Voldemort's most loyal followers.

Harry sat in shock, staring at the woman who had just recently made his morning hell. Fred and George wore equal expressions appropriate to having been clubbed over the head, having not known that their prank would go so terribly awry. A growing anger began to build inside of him, heating every part of his body and becoming such a fury that even Ginny's touch and feelings did nothing to stop him. Magic was visibly cracking off of him in sparks, and the silverware nearby began to rattle.

"Harry, you need to calm down, please!" she pleaded, but her whispers fell on empty ears. Without making a sound, his wand flew into his hand from his robes and he clenched it tight in his fist, jaw set. With all the attention focused at the front of the hall, nobody noticed the rat that had darted into the hall and was running up the floor just under the Gryffindor table.

After years of being able to silently transform, Peter Pettigrew did so and disillusioned himself before crawling out from under the table and creeping back behind where Harry Potter sat. 'Merlin, he looks just like James', he sneered. 'That show-off had been making me look bad for years. Time to serve my master, and prove my worth…'

Peter snuck behind Harry and pointed his wand at his back. With a wicked grin, he opened his mouth to whisper the incantation.

At that same second, Harry felt a prickling feeling on his neck as though in danger or being watched. A second later he heard a rustle just next to him. Falling back and pulling Ginny off the bench with him, Harry just missed a jet of blue light that seemed as though it singed the top of his head. Immediately, every Gryffindor was on their feet with their wands out, but Harry was faster. As soon as he had seen the spell miss, he whipped his wand in the direction it came from and yelled, "STUPEFY!"

A thud was heard throughout the hall, and was echoed a second later as Umbridge rolled off the table under the distraction of everybody. Once there, she shielded herself and attempted to apparate, foolishly forgetting the apparation rule within Hogwarts. Frustrated, she turned to leave, but a well placed stunner from Professor Flitwick snuck under her defenses and brought her down as well. Professor McGonagall bound Umbridge using the Incarcerous spell. Professor Dumbledore swept down the Hall to where Harry sat, and waved his wand in an arc around the area. Peter Pettigrew appeared sprawled in the center of the lane, eyes widened in fear and clearly knowing there was no way out. Dumbledore bound him as well, and levitated him next to Umbridge after checking for and finding a Dark Mark.

"Minervra, please contact the Aurors and notify them of this situation," Dumbledore instructed, his eyes holding a steely glint as he glared at the captives. Professor McGonagall nodded and rushed out to the Entrance Hall to use one of the large fireplaces frequently used by visitors.

"Students, your attention please." Dumbledore's voice held a power to it that captured every student's attention, as was no doubt his intention.

"As you have seen, we have apprehended two servants of Voldemort. As a result, there will be a full investigation conducted at Hogwarts. Classes are canceled for the day, and all students are confined to their Common Rooms. Lunch and dinner will be sent up there. Anyone found outside of their Common Rooms will face serious consequences."

The multiple screeching sounds as students pushed their benches back from the table signaled that it was time to leave. Within minutes, the Great Hall was deserted except for the teachers and their immobilized prisoners.

Up in the Common Room, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took their usual seats by the fire after snatching a few sandwiches that had magically appeared on one of the corner tables. Ginny had no place to sit as the other chairs were taken, and once again decided Harry's lap was the best place to sit. Ron was visibly biting his tongue, but made no comment much to everyone's surprise and relief. Hermione turned back to Harry and Ginny.

"So Professor Umbridge is a Death Eater, working with Peter Pettigrew, both of whom have just been captured." Her eyes widened, and she stared at Harry. "Sirius can be cleared!"

Harry's head jerked up as his jaw dropped. He had not yet had time to ponder the ramifications of Pettigrew's capture. The possibilities of a new life flashed before his eyes- Sirius attending his Quidditch matches, being able to walk openly in London, being able to live in a normal house without being haunted by the dark past of his family. A stinging sensation formed behind Harry's eyes and he blinked furiously to clear it. Ginny felt his happiness and hope for a normal life with Sirius, the emotions so overpowering that she had to blink back her own tears before throwing her arms around Harry's neck. They comforted each other for a moment before Ron cleared his throat.

"So er…Harry, where are you sleeping now?"

Harry sighed and Ginny released him, squeezing his hand. He caught her eyes for a brief moment before managing to tear himself away.

"Come on, you two. There are some things we need to share with you."

Ron looked puzzled, but Hermione's brow was furrowed in concentration, clearly attempting to solve the puzzle they were presenting her with. Harry led Ron up the boys staircase, while Ginny and Hermione went up the girls. Harry opened the door to their room at the same time Ginny opened hers, and together they entered before Harry closed both doors and placed silencing charms on them. Ron and Hermione were staring around, examining the living room.

"Have a seat, you guys."

They sank back onto the couch, still gazing around in disbelief. "What is this place?" whispered Hermione.

"This is our room. Let us explain what happened last night."

Harry and Ginny ran through the story, each taking turns to tell the tale. They explained what Dumbledore told them in his office, and ended with Mrs. Weasley's confrontation with Dumbledore that morning.

As he spoke, Ginny carefully watched several expressions making themselves known on Ron's face. She knew her brother better than anybody, but even she could only imagine the raging storm of emotions he was sorting through. First his face was blank, indicating shock. It slowly morphed into a brilliant red of anger, and transformed to something akin to the protectiveness he had always let through more when Ginny was around. Finally (and most shockingly), everything seemed to stop and his blank expression confused all in the room. Hermione seemed to be wrapped up in her own battle of thoughts. Harry didn't know what to think about his best mate, although he had prepared for the worst. When they finished speaking, a silence ensued.

"You're married? Really, truly married?" choked out Hermione.

Together, Harry and Ginny nodded and smiled. Harry reached for Ginny's hand and squeezed it lightly. Hermione's mind went into overload. On one hand, they were so young, but on the other- she had rarely seen that much happiness in her best friend's face, and the love he felt for Ginny was evident in his eyes. He was content and at peace, something he had been unable to achieve during his years at Hogwarts so far. 'It was only a matter of time anyways,' she decided. After a moment, a large smile graced her face and she bounded off the couch towards the two of them. "Congratulations!"

Ginny chuckled at Harry's bemused expression, and they embraced their bushy haired friend. Once Hermione had pulled away, everyone's eyes focused on Ron, who had sat on the couch without moving or speaking.

"Ron?" Ginny prodded tentatively. She was all too aware of Ron's explosive emotions, and therefore treated him as she would a ticking dungbomb, until he gave her more signals to work with. To her shock, a soft smile spread on his face that slowly turned into a large grin. He rose from the sofa, crossed the space between them and wrapped his sister into a hug that would have rivaled Mrs. Weasley.

To say Ginny was shocked would be an understatement, and Harry was more than confused at his best mate's reaction. Ron pulled away, the tips of his ears bright red, and noticed their faces. Looking at the rug for a moment, he gathered his thoughts before looking down at Harry and Ginny.

"When I first heard you say that you married my sister, I felt the normal mix of rage and protectiveness that every brother feels for their baby sister." He shook his head, and chuckled a bit as Ginny slapped his arm for the baby remark.

"But then I decided to think about it like Hermione." The witch in question whipped her head around and stared at him in wonder. "I remembered how you saved her from the Chamber, Harry. I was terrified to go on, but you barely knew her and you killed a basilisk for her! The last few weeks, you've treated her like the most special thing in your world. Then there's the soul merge, which pretty much says that you're fated to be together anyways."

Ron shrugged. "It would've happened sooner of later. And for the record Harry, you're the only bloke I could ever see being good enough to deserve my sister." Ginny gasped at her brother, having never heard him speak so plainly and openly with anybody- especially about his thoughts or emotions. He always said that only "saps" did that. Ron held his hand out for Harry, who shook it before Ron pulled his mate in for a manly hug. After a few slaps on the back, he whispered, "Welcome to the family."

They broke apart to see Ginny standing with Hermione, both with obvious tear tracks on their faces and smiling widely. Ron's outright acceptance had been something nobody had considered, especially after he went off on Neville for taking her to the Yule Ball the year before. His reaction was the wild card of it all, and Harry was elated to have his best mate's approval- especially now that Ron was actually his brother-in-law.

They stayed up in Harry and Ginny's rooms for a few hours, before exiting down to the Common Room for dinner. Fred and George had clearly nicked extra food from the kitchens, as dozens of bottles of Butterbeer were stacked on one table off in the corner. The twins could be seen off to the side, demonstrating their newest inventions- Skiving Snackboxes, sweets to make students ill so that they could skive off of classes. Hermione pursed her lips and glared with disapproving eyes, but made no movement to stop them. Ron turned to Harry as they were picking up plates.

"Are you going to tell the twins?" he muttered.

Harry glanced around before replying. "Over Christmas when all of the family is there."

Ron nodded his approval and loaded his plate as usual. The night was spent playing (and losing spectacularly at) Wizards Chess and Exploding Snap before the four friends parted ways. Ginny stopped on the stairs to talk to some roommates from the previous year, so when she reached the room she found Harry seated in an armchair staring at the fire. She walked up to him and sat on his lap.

"Ginny, I- mmph." Harry was pleasantly interrupted by a pair of soft lips on his, and they spent awhile cuddled in the armchair. When Ginny sensed that Harry was losing feeling in his legs, she got up and dragged him to the couch. As they sat, Harry smiled. This was how he wanted his life to be spent- cuddled on a couch in front of a warm, roaring fire with his beautiful wife, feeling at peace with the world. He spent some time admiring the way the firelight reflected off her hair, and noticed the several shades created a startlingly beautiful effect. She listened to his steady heartbeat, and closed her eyes. Within moments, they were both asleep.

_ Harry was standing in a small, dark cell. The wall glistened with moisture and gave an eerie appearance when combined with the flickering of the single torch in the hallway outside. A small warm hand squeezed his own, and he recognized Ginny's touch. She was standing right next to him, looking equally terrified. Examining the cell, they observed two tables with white sheets covering whatever lay atop them (Harry shivered, as he had a sneaking suspicion what was there), and a white, smoky crystal sitting atop a pedestal next to them. Harry was compelled to reach forward and touch it. He was startled to see Ginny make the same movement, and together their fingers brushed the cool surface. _

_ As their hands brushed the crustal, it turned a brilliant white and illuminated the entire cell. What startled them most was the voice. _

_ "Harry?"_

_ The woman's voice echoed in the cell, and sounded vaguely familiar to him. "Harry are you there?" _

_ "Yes," he croaked, as Ginny stared at the crystal and listened. _

_ "Harry, this cell underground…we are trapped here. You must find us." _

_ "But, who are you? Where is this cell? How are we supposed to find you?" _

_ "Please Harry, you must. You will figure it out in time. Together, you and Ginny….must tell someone that we are here. Then come get us. Only you…can help…now." _

_ Ginny started at hearing her name. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking. _

_ "Please…..find us…." _

_ The cell faded to white, and Harry and Ginny knew no more. _

The couple awoke on the couch quite abruptly, and at the same time. Harry had sunk down into the cushions, and Ginny's head was laying on his stomach, face up at him. She shivered as the dream was pulled back into her thoughts, and Harry wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him, both deep in thought.

"Ginny…you were part of that dream with me, weren't you?"

She nodded. "Saw and heard everything." A troubled expression filled her face, and she bit her lip. "Harry, who was speaking to us?"

She waited and watched as her husband fumbled with words and gathered his thoughts, before answering so quietly that, had she not seen his lips move, she would never have known he answered.

"My mother."

She gasped. "How do you know?"

"I recognized her voice. That whispering, almost breathy tone was the same one she used to sing me to sleep when I was a baby. I recognized it vaguely when she spoke, and thinking back now…there can be no other answer."

She knew better than to say it wasn't possible- the whole dream had taken her on a trip about what was possible and impossible. She sat up as Harry made to get up, and he stood leaning on the mantle, gazing into the fireplace. After a moment, she got up and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, leaning her head against his back. He sighed, then turned and pulled her close.

"I don't know what to do about this."

"We could always tell Professor Dumbledore, he may have a few-"

"NO!" Ginny jumped at his violent exclamation, and he instantly felt remorse for scaring her. He took a breath and forced his emotions back, and softened his voice.

"I'm sorry. I just don't trust Dumbledore as much as I used to. I can't believe he would tell us everything about his suspicions."

Although Ginny knew it was true, she still struggled to believe that the most powerful wizard in the world that everyone trusted as the most avid Dark Arts opponent in Europe would not be their best choice.

"Ok then," she decided. "Let's wait. Perhaps it was just a dream," although she sounded unconvinced, "and it means nothing. If we have this dream again, we'll tell someone. Maybe Professor McGonagall."

Harry nodded in agreement- his Head of House would certainly hear them out, and seemed to consider her courses of action much more carefully than the Headmaster. Smiling, Ginny grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom. They both changed quickly and crawled under the covers, exhausted before they hit the sheets.

The next morning, when Harry and Ginny left their bedroom, Harry noticed a clay pot with a note sitting on the sofa. He walked over and, removing the lid, recognized the bright green Floo Powder. Ginny read the note aloud.

"It says that we are to report to Professor Dumbledore's office before breakfast using the Floo," she read. Harry's expression darkened, but he masked it quickly with indifference. "Let's get this over with then."

Using the Floo with two people was known to be a terrible experience, as it was impossible to coordinate landings while in the Floo. Nearly every time, both participants ended up on the floor in their ending location. The merge made it quite easy however, and for once Harry managed to step out of the fireplace upright and not suddenly dizzy.

The first thing Harry noticed was the large black dog sitting to the left of the Headmaster's desk, who quickly transformed into his godfather and embraced Harry roughly. "Hey there, kid." Harry returned the embrace with equal force. When they let go, Sirius greeted Ginny in a similar manger and they all grinned at each other.

"Sirius, I'm surprised we didn't hear from you yesterday with the Weasleys!"

He looked confused. "Harry, it's only been two days. I miss you, but not that much," he chuckled. Ginny and Harry exchanged a look.

"Let me guess," said Harry, and he turned to the Headmaster's desk where Dumbledore had been standing observing them, "You've been withholding information from Sirius so that he wouldn't feel more inclined to leave that heap of dung called a house."

Sirius looked shocked at Harry's words and appalled at his tone, but felt his own anger begin to spike as he turned towards the Headmaster.

"Is that true, Albus?" he asked in a deadly voice. "Have you actually been keeping things from me, things that the rest of the Order knows, things about Harry's life at Hogwarts, just so I wouldn't want to leave hiding any more than I already DID?" His voice rose to a shout, and Ginny grasped Harry's hand as she recognized the beginning of a long morning. She glared daggars at the Professor.

"Sirius, that's why I have called you here today- to explain everything, but most importantly to tell you that Peter Pettigrew was captured yesterday." The Professor's voice was strong yet quiet, conveying both regret but confidence in his decisions that irritated both Harry and Sirius, but they managed to contain it.

"Pettigrew was captured?" he snapped. "That damn rat was finally stupid enough to come near the castle?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Pettigrew and one of our Professors were captured bearing the Dark Mark. They are being tried and sent to Azkaban as we speak. However, the more important matter at hand is that of your freedom. The Wizengamot is setting up a full hearing, using Veritiserum and pensieve memories to verify the information given by yourself, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Peter Pettigrew."

Seeing Harry's confused expression, the Professor turned to him. "You will be required to explain what happened two years ago with Sirius in the Shrieking Shack. I will oversee the trial, so that Minister Fudge will not take advantage of your guaranteed truthful response," he added, interpreting Harry's worry correctly.

"Professor, when will the trial be?" asked Ginny.

"Tomorrow, Mrs. Potter."

Sirius' head turned so fast Harry would have sworn he was part owl. "What was that I just heard, Albus?"

"Sirius, you remember the soul merge that we discovered over the summer?" asked Ginny.

Sirius nodded. "Of course. That type of magic is difficult to forget."

Ginny agreed silently, and said "According to the ministry, a soul merge is defined in some ancient laws as being counted as a marriage since it only happens to couples destined to be together."

Sirius goggled at them. "You're…..you're really married." He was searching for words to convey his rapidly shifting emotions, but found none and pulled them both into a tight hug.

"Harry, your parents would have been so proud of you to find such a wonderful wife, even if it is a little early. Not to mention the fact that you unknowingly continued the Potter legacy of marrying redheads," he smirked, as he released them. Harry grinned at that.

"Ginny, as Harry's godfather and hopefully a good friend of yours now, I hope you know that you can come to me anytime about anything and I'll always be willing to help." He winked, "especially when it comes to pranking those brothers of yours…" Ginny laughed loudly at that and gave him an extra squeeze.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Harry, Ginny, breakfast is almost over so I will leave some food here for you to eat before class. Sirius, you may stay in this room as long as they leave, then Floo back to Grimmauld Place- hopefully for almost the final time," he added.

The three nodded and trays with breakfast foods piled on them appeared on a table conjured in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk. The Headmaster excused himself and swept out of the room as they descended on their pancakes. The time was spent mostly telling stories and laughing at Umbridge turning into a toad. Sirius turned quiet for a few moments, simply observing his godson and his wife interact.

'Merlin, I've never seen him so happy,' he thought. 'They really are just like Lily and James- perfect for each other.'

Ginny and Harry noticed Sirius' lack of jokes, and looked up curiously at him. He grinned, and said "You know, you two look quite a lot like Harry's parents. The feisty redhead and the troublemaking Potter." Harry threw a piece of bacon at his head, which Sirius caught with his mouth and grinned. "Seriously Harry, you look happier than I think anyone has ever seen you."

Harry smiled and turned to Ginny. "You can thank her for that, Sirius. Without her I'd have gone crazy these past few days." Ginny returned the smile and pecked a kiss on his cheek. Harry turned back to Sirius.

"So since you're going to be free…can I live with you?"

Sirius looked shocked at the question. "You…want to live with me?"

Harry snorted. "Well, you are my godfather. You think I want to go back to Privet Drive? And you did offer back in third year," he reminded Sirius.

Sirius grinned. "That I did, kid. I'm not sure how Dumbledore will take it, but he really doesn't have a choice. We'll figure it out this summer."

Harry shot out of his chair and tackled his godfather, who responded with equal enthusiasm as a mini-wrestling match ensued. Ginny chuckled at her husband and his antics, realizing that it was the most playful and child-like she had ever seen him. Such a break in his mature, brooding state was shocking but in the best way possible.

Once the two finished, Harry and Ginny gathered their things and walked Sirius to the fireplace. As Harry hugged him, he whispered, "When I see you tomorrow, I need to talk to you about something." Sirius nodded slightly before moving to hug Ginny and stepping through the Floo. Harry sighed.

"Let's go to class, then." Reaching for Ginny's hand, Harry stepped out of Dumbledore's office door and closed it behind him, walking with a new bounce in his step as he considered the many new possibilities in his future- all of them wonderful.


	9. Chapter 9 The Trial

**Chapter 9- The Trial**

"Ginny, hurry up we're going to be late!"

Harry was pacing nervously in front of the fire, anxious to get this ordeal over with. It was only the fact that Ginny could feel his anxiety that saved him from being hexed. Mrs. Weasley had flooed over that morning and given him a pair of black "business robes" for the trial, and a matching set for Ginny. Once she emerged from the bedroom, Harry quickly tossed a handful of green powder into the flames, yelling "Dumbledore's Office!" as he stepped through with Ginny.

Seconds later, they emerged neatly out of the Headmaster's fireplace. Ginny used a quick cleaning spell to dispell the ash before striding to the Headmaster's desk. Professor Dumbledore was busily gathering various scraps of parchment together to take with him, placing them all carefully in a muggle-style folder. He looked up as she approached.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. We are currently waiting for Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, and then we will be on our way. Please feel free to have a seat."

As they waited, Harry's eyes roamed around the Headmaster's office, taking in all the details. He paused at each of the spindly instruments, but when he could not discern a function from any of them he took to examining the walls. He smiled slightly as he notice the Sorting Hat, perched atop a bookshelf behind Dumbledore's desk, and swore the brim twitched in response. Ginny was examining some of the portraits, who as usual attempted to appear as though they were deep in slumber. A sharp rap at the door distracted them from their examination, and the door swung open soundlessly to admit Hermione and Ron, followed by Professor McGonagall.

"Excellent, we are ready to proceed. Thank you, Minevra."

She nodded. "Good luck you three- if anyone can free Sirius of this mess, it would be you." The corners of her mouth twitched upwards before she spun and left the room quickly. The students shared a look of amusement, before turning back to Dumbledore.

Professor Dumbledore had moved to the side of his desk, and picked up a beautiful Eagle feather quill. Harry could see Hermione out of the corner of his eye gazing at it longingly. Ron was visibly nervous, and kept fidgeting in his seat.

"Shall we?" The Professor gestured for them to each place a finger on the quill, and a whispered command triggered the familiar tugging at the naval that characterized a Portkey. They landed in the Atrium of the Ministry, barely avoiding the masses of workers bustling about to their various jobs. Scrambling to their feet, they followed Dumbledore's retreating back at a brisk pace. They crammed into a cluttered elevator with several other Ministry wizards, some of whom greeted Professor Dumbledore before rushing off once their floor arrived. To Harry's relief, he remained unnoticed.

"Level Five- Deparment of Mysteries, Lower Courtrooms."

"This is our stop," said Dumbledore, as he led them down a long, dark corridor with a single doorway at the end. Harry felt his heart quicken as he anticipated entering the door, having no idea why he was disappointed and feeling the urge to turn back when they turned into a side corridor and began descending many flights of stairs. They passed several oak doors labeled in numerical order, before halting in front of door number seven.

"I have informed you that you must testify under the influence of Veritiserum," Professor Dumbledore said. "Please only answer the direct question, do not elaborate. There are many matters the Ministry should remain ignorant of. It would be a great pleasure for Minister Fudge to see any of you convicted after Harry's close escape this summer."

The teenagers nodded, and the Professor opened the door behind them.

Harry recognized the room from his own hearing- it was circular with tall ceilings, surrounded by a set of benches. At the front was a raised platform with several seats with the Wizangamot in their purple robes already seated. Towards the front of the room was a desk, behind which Sirius sat at a chair with...wait...

Harry's magic began building within him as he furiously observed the chains binding his godfather's arms and legs to the chair. Ginny felt his anger rising and narrowed his eyes as she found the source, by attempted to temper his reaction. She leaned over to him once they took their seats around the room.

"Harry, if you say anything or let your magic get out of control, you jeopardize the whole trial. Sirius' freedom hangs in the balance here- you need to calm down."

Harry focused intently on the seat in front of him, and reigned in his magic. Taking deep breaths, he calmed his mind and turned back to Sirius as Minister Fudge stood, wearing black robes that stood out in the sea of purple. He sharply rapped the gavel by the podium he stood at.

"Please take your seats, we are ready to begin."

The rustle of robes and buzz of many voices discussing the trial ceased, and the attention was directed to the front of the room. The Minister glanced around before nodding.

"Today, we gather to observe and direct the trial of Sirius Orion Black, convicted fifteen years ago for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and use of the blasting curse that caused the deaths of thirteen muggles." He turned to the wizard on his left. "Weasley, please read the reasons why this trial has been held."

Ginny gasped slightly as Percy rose from the crowd, and Harry felt Ron stiffen next to him and mutter a string of curses towards his estranged brother.

"Two days ago, September 2, Dolores Umbridge and Peter Pettigrew were apprehended at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and confirmed to be Death Eaters by the presence of the Dark Mark," he rattled off. "Peter Pettigrew's identity was confirmed, and therefore negates the charge of murder against-"

"Yes, yes," snapped Fudge, with a scowl on his face. Percy fell silent, and glanced towards his sister and brother nervously. Harry sensed almost fear from him, but the look was gone before he could be sure.

"Let us hear from Sirius Black first. Healer, please administer the Veritiserum," commanded Fudge. A wizard in white robes slowly approached Sirius where he was bound in his chair, and poured three drops of a milky white substance into his open mouth. A minute later, a glazed look appeared over his eyes and Minister Fudge began.

"Please state your name."

"SIrius Orion Black," he droned.

"Are you Harry Potter's godfather?"

"Yes I am."

"Please give your account of Halloween fifteen years ago."

Sirius paused slightly, before beginning his story.

"That night, I had been to visit Lily and James for dinner. I stayed an hour after playing with Harry and talking with them, before leaving and going back to my flat in London. I stayed there until a patronus message reached me in Professor Dumbledore's voice. He said that..." Sirius' voice broke, "...that Lily and James had been killed by Voldemort. I apparated back to their house and found the place destroyed. Harry was upstairs, still in his crib. The muggle authorities hadn't arrived yet, but Rubeus Hagrid was there to take Harry to his relatives in Surry. I was supposed to be his guardian, but I figured Dumbledore needed temporary plans for the night. I realized Pettigrew had betrayed them, since he was the Secret Keeper, and I hunted him down in muggle London. He cast a spell that blasted all of the muggles and nearly destroyed the street, before cutting off his finger and transforming into his rat animagus."

Sirius stopped talking. Harry knew reliving that night was costing him more than it showed, but he retained the appearance of strength.

"Your account has been duly recorded," Fudge noted in a seemingly bored voice. "Healer, please administer the antidote."

The same healer stepped forward and dumped a vial of pale pink liquid into Sirius' mouth. His eyes unglazed and he shook his head a few times before looking around.

"Will Mr. Potter step down to the floor for testimony?"

Ginny squeezed his hand and smiled encouragingly at him. He stood and walked down to the center of the floor, where another chair appeared (thankfully without chains). He sat, and the healer bustled forward and handed him another dose of Veritiserum. Harry downed it with a slightly shaking hand, and waited. After a minute, he felt as though he were floating and his eyes glazed over much like Sirius'. At the same time, there was a tug on the side of his mind, one that he always associated with Ginny's presence.

"Please state your name."

"Harry James Potter." The words had tumbled out of his mouth seemingly of their own accord, and that worried him greatly. If Minister Fudge knew to ask the right questions, it would not be difficult to divulge information that should be kept under wraps.

"Please state your current place of residence."

"Number Four, Privet Drive, Surrey."

Harry could see Professor Dumbledore behind and to the right of Fudge, in the seat designated for the Head Mugwump. Although normally he would be conducting the questioning, Dumbledore had explained to them the day before that the Minister had the right to control questioning in high profile cases.

"Mr. Potter, were you responsible for the escape of Sirius Black two years ago at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

Before Harry could open his mouth, Professor Dumbledore stood. "Minister Fudge, might I remind you that this trial is only in relation to Sirius Black and his charges."

Fudge shot a look of loathing at the elderly wizard before turning back to glare at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, please give your account of what happened two years ago, when Sirius Black was almost captured at Hogwarts."

Harry thought for a moment, then launched into his story. He explained how he had been to visit Hagrid that evening with Ron and Hermione, and how Scabbers had escaped Ron. He explained how Sirius lured them into the Shrieking Shack, and explained to them what Pettigrew was. He even told them how Professor Snape had been spying and heard the entire confession. There were mixed reactions from the courtroom when they heard how Professor Lupin had transformed that night and the Dementors had attacked him. There were even several exclamations and doubtful murmurs that Harry could produce a Patronus powerful enough to drive back the Dementors. He ended his account with waking up in the hospital wing.

There was an urge within him, no doubt spurred by the Veritiserum, to explain what happened afterwards with the Time Turner. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a nudge from Ginny's presence in the back of his mind gained his attention. While he received strong feelings not to continue, fragments of voice broke through his cloudy mind.

_"No...don't talk about...Time Turner...trouble...Hermione and..." _

It was an experience akin to having a badly turned radio in his head. Thankfully his silence was taken as the end of his tale, and Minister Fudge began his next question.

"Mr. Potter, was there any other point in time that you encountered Peter Pettigrew?"

"I saw him all the time when I stayed with the Weasleys- he was Ron's pet rat. Nobody knew that he was an animagus," Harry stated. "Pettigrew was also present during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, and was responsible for the murder of Cedric Diggory as well as helping Voldemort gain his body back."

The courtroom erupted in gasps and whispers, particularly at the mention of Voldemort's name. Amos Diggory, being a high ranking ministry official, was present in the crowd and was clearly shaken by this news.

"Mr. Potter, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has not returned to power."

A spark of rage flew through him even in his drugged state, and he knew some of it originated with Ginny. "He has, Minister. I saw him return to his body the night of the Third Task."

Fudge shook this information off, even though several Wizengamot members wrote it down.

"We are done here. Healer, administer the antidote."

Harry felt his head clear moments later, and as he stood to return to his seat, Amelia Bones rose from her place at the front as Head of the Department of Law Enforcement.

"Mr. Potter, I know from your own hearing that you stated you can produce a patronus. I understand that it is a difficult spell, even for some ministry wizards. To dispell any doubt on the matter, would you mind giving a demonstration?"

Fudge looked at her in incredulity, but Harry simply shrugged and took out his wand. He looked directly at Ginny, thinking simply of her, as he shouted, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A white stag burst from his wand and galloped around the room. To his surprise, another silvery figure burst forth- a great lion. It took its place next to the stag, and silence descended upon the room. Looking up, pure shock was on the face of every member of the Wizengamot, including Professor Dumbledore.

"...two patronus forms? This is unheard of..."

Fudge snorted. "Obviously one of his friends helped him out. A wizard cannot have two patronus forms."

"On the contrary, Minister, if a person has two equally strong happy feelings that are both important to him, it can be theorized that they would have two patronus forms," Professor Dumbledore quietly stated.

"Yes, well, we're here for a trial not a magical demonstration. Mr. Weasley, please step forward."

Harry swished his wand and his patroni disappeared, before he turned and reclaimed his seat next to Ginny. She instantly took his hand and conveyed feelings of pride, joy, and love. They watched together as first Ron then Hermione testified, giving the same account that he did. Harry was nervous at first that Hermione would reveal the Time Turner, but she managed to fight the potion long enough to skip over it. The last person to be called before them was Pettigrew himself.

He emerged from a door on the right side of the courtroom, flanked by three Aurors in their crimson red robes. He was bound, and wearing the same Azkaban jumpsuit Sirius was wearing when Harry first met him. It was clear that prison was disagreeing with him- he lost a lot of weight, and his eyes already carried a shadow of that haunted look Sirius sometimes achieved. He was placed in the chair, and chains appeared that bound his arms and legs just like Sirius. The Healer administered the Veritiserum, and moments later they began.

"Please state your name."

"Peter Lucas Pettigrew."

"Mr. Pettigrew, are you responsible for the death of thirteen muggles on Halloween Eve, fifteen years ago?" questioned Fudge.

"Yes." The simple answer was enough to cause the courtroom to break out in mutterings. Fudge rapped the gavel irritably. "Silence!"

"Are you responsible for the deaths of James and Lily Potter?"

"Yes."

"How are you responsible?"

"I was made Secret Keeper at the suggestion of Sirius Black. When I returned to the Dark Lord, I told him of their location. He rewarded me greatly."

Sirius held a look of pure hatred on his face that Harry mimicked. Hearing the man who sold out his parents speaking as though their deaths were nothing more than a task was maddening. He clenched his fist, keeping in mind that his other was holding Ginny's hand. The silence in the room allowed them to clearly hear Percy from Fudge's side, documenting the hearing word for word.

"Mr. Pettigrew, are you responsible for the death of Cedric Diggory?"

"Yes. My master required only one for his return."

Of all the information given to Fudge that day, that statement had him at a loss for words. Hearing not one, but two testimonies under truth potion that the Dark Lord had returned left him no choice but to believe it.

"Mr. Pettigrew, what were your intentions at Hogwarts this year?"

"Umbridge and I were supposed to work together for the Dark Lord to capture either Potter or his girl. I knew she was a suck up, and she'd try to take all the glory if we did manage it. So I intended to kidnap him at breakfast that day. The fact that she was revealed helped a lot. Potter heard me somehow behind him and stunned me before I could move."

The Minister nodded, and dismissed Pettigrew. As the antidote was being administered, he announced, "The Wizengamot will now deliberate."

The wizards in purple exited through a door behind their benches, and the chattering of the audience filled the courtroom. Hermione leaned over Ron to address Harry.

"Do you think Fudge will actually do something now that he's been told to his face that Voldemort is back?"

Harry shrugged. "If he wants to keep his power as minister he will. Too many witnesses today heard what happened."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, Dad said that Fudge really only cares about the power and will do anything for it."

Harry turned back and looked at Sirius, who was still chained to his chair and was glaring at the back of Pettigrew's head. Harry figured it was probably a good thing that Sirius had entrusted him with his wand before turning himself in yesterday. Only Dumbledore pulling strings had allowed him a trial without having to spend a night in Azkaban. Sirius swore he would never return there under any circumstances.

An hour later, the Wizengamot filed back into the courtroom and took their seats, so only Dumbledore and Fudge remained standing. Fudge rapped his gavel three times and the room descended into silence once again.

"Albus Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump, what is the decision of the Wizengamot?"

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat. "The Wizengamot finds Sirius Black not guilty and cleared of all charges. We also recommend that he is awarded 500,000 galleons for the troubles the Ministry has caused him the last fifteen years."

There was applauding and cheering at this, and Fudge nodded his head. "As Minister of Magic, I accept this decision and will see it carried through."

The chains binding Sirius released him at that point, but he remained sitting.

"Supreme Mugwump, what is the decision in the matter of Peter Pettigrew?"

"We find him guilty of the murder of thirteen muggles fifteen years ago, attempted murder of Harry Potter, the murder of Cedric Diggory, and of his assistance in the murder of Lily and James Potter. We hereby sentence him to life in Azkaban."

Fudge nodded again, and accepted. Pettigrew was released from his chair and led from the room with the same three Aurors, a look of fear on his face now that his fate had been decided. The Wizengamot began to stand and exit the room, as well as Minister Fudge. As soon as it seemed the proceedings were over, Harry bounded out of his seat and sprinted to the center of the room, crashing into his godfather and engulfing him in a hug that was eagerly returned. Sirius patted his back and released him after a moment, only to have Ginny run into his arms in a similar manner. Congratulations were given by many in the room, and after a half hour the room had finally emptied, leaving only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Sirius, and Professor Dumbledore.

"Sirius, I have alerted Molly to the results of the proceedings. I suspect a large feast is awaiting you at Grimmauld Place," chuckled Dumbledore. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, Mr. and Mrs. Potter- you may attend this party as long as you return to Hogwarts before curfew tonight. I shall alert Professor McGonagall of your whereabouts."

"Thanks Professor!" they chorused.

"Well, let's go then- I'm starving!" exclaimed Ron, turning and striding towards the doors. The group laughed at Ron's typical reaction, and followed him out of the courtroom.

The party for Sirius' freedom was crazy and fun, with many Order members stopping by to have a drink and congratulate him. Sirius downed many bottles of Firewhiskey, passing out right after he stumbled to the Weasley twins and thanked them profusely (well, with as many words as one can coherently use while drunk) for the prank that saved his life. He then collapsed on the couch with a sappy smile on his face and promptly began snoring.

Harry had gone down to the kitchen in search of another butterbeer when he found Ginny. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he kissed her neck before she turned around and gave him a blazing kiss that left no coherent thoughts in his brain. She grinned back and they reveled in the feel of the celebration, especially after so much seriousness (pun much intended) the past few days.

A crash came from upstairs where the library was, and Harry and Ginny hurried upstairs to see what the problem was. The sight in the library once they reached it made Harry stop in his tracks and Ginny force herself to stifle a giggle. Ron had apparently imbibed nearly as much Firewhiskey as Sirius, and was wobbling unsteadily on his knees in front of a very shocked Hermione. The book she had been carrying was laying disregarded on the floor.

"C'mon, 'ermione...go out wimme. You know you wanna. I love you. I'll buy ya'a new book...we can eat dinner...an' go to Hogsmeade..." Ron rambled on in his slurred speech, clearly unaware of the audience that had gathered behind Harry and Ginny, including Tonks, Remus, the Twins, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley held a disappointed by amused look on her face at the situation her youngest son had gotten himself into. Ron finally stopped speaking and blearily gazed up at her. Hermione cleared her throat and seemed to be searching for words.

"Er...Ron...I think you're quite drunk and don't know what you're saying at the moment."

Ron stopped and seemed to think for a minute. He looked up brightly. "Yep! I'm drunk!" and seemed to be about to continue, but lost his balance and fell forward on his face by Hermione's shoes. A snore a moment later confirmed their suspicions, and a loud click echoed through the room as one of the twins held up a disposable camera. Harry groaned- the twins were learning muggle equipment now. Hermione's face was bright red as she strode past the crowd and sprinted up the stairs. He looked at Ginny and squeezed her hand, silently asking her to help. He nodded and smiled at him, before leaving and walking quietly up the stairs.

Remus levitated Ron onto the nearby couch and conjured a blanket as the room emptied. Harry went downstairs to rejoin the party, and an hour later Hermione and Ginny emerged. No trace of the event was visible on Hermione's face, and she mingled and smiled with the rest. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny departed for Hogwarts early as the guest of honor has passed out and was unable to eat dinner. Ron was staying behind at the insistence of Mrs. Weasley. Harry privately thought she wanted her chance to berate Ron when he woke up.

The trio arrived through the floo in Dumbledore's office, who looked up from his desk in surprise.

"I thought the party would have lasted much longer than this," he said.

"Well sir, Sirius drank a bit too much and missed most of his own party," Ginny laughed.

Dumbledore laughed as well. "He was always the life of the party. You three may go down to dinner now then- it's about to start."

"Thank you, sir," they chorused, and headed down to the Great Hall. Dinner that night was a loud affair- the news of Sirius Black had spread since that morning, and while those at Slytherin were less than pleased, the rest of the school was pleased with the turn of events. Hufflepuff in particular was happy that Cedric finally had some justice.

During dessert, Dumbledore announced that next week a new Defense professor would be starting lessons at Hogwarts, but until then all Defense lessons were canceled. Harry hoped his staffing choices were significantly better this time around.

After being destroyed in chess by Hermione after dinner (she had recently become quite good at the game, rival only to Ron), Harry and Ginny retired early to their quarters. While Ginny went to the loo, Harry removed his robes and changed out of his business attire. He preferred to sleep in a shirt and boxers, but since Ginny had been recently joining his bed, he had always managed to find a pair of shorts to wear over them. Tonight there were none to be found, so boxers would have to do.

He found himself laying back on the pillows, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the day. Ginny re-entered the room and curled up next to Harry. He looked down at her and their lips met, a charge ripping through them with a force they had never felt before. A thought that was not his own popped into his head, "Wow!" He could feel every sensation that Ginny felt, magnifying his own. Her hands crept up under his shirt and she removed it, tracing the muscles of his chest and stomach. The fire continued to burn through them everywhere she touched, and she paused a moment only to remove her own shirt.

Harry's breath hitched as he regarded the lacy black bra she wore, standing in stark contrast to her pale skin and fiery hair. She had a lean, athletic body that was the product of many Quidditch practices and leant her a sexy appearance that made Harry's mouth water. He felt his lower half beginning to react, as did Ginny through their link. She paused for a moment.

"Harry...I think this might be moving a bit fast."

He nodded. Although Ginny was beautiful and he would love to be with her physically, his brain knew that their relationship wasn't ready for that next step- and neither was Ginny. They settled that night simply by snogging and enjoying the other's company, before falling asleep wrapped in a close embrace.

_Harry was back in the cell, Ginny at his side. Nothing had changed- the crystal on the table glowed slightly, and there was still the lumpy white sheet nearby. Ginny gazed around, and turned to Harry with a questioning look. _

_Before either could pose a question, the same voice that Harry had identified as Lily's echoed through the room. _

_"Harry...Ginny...you must find us. Soon. We are running out of...time." _

_"Where are you?" asked Harry quickly. "How are you speaking to us? How do we find you?" _

_"When your bond strengthens...you will know. You are not...alone." _

_Ginny squeezed his hand. "Who has trapped you?" _

_"He who...would...seek to destroy...us all. He would use...us...against you both. You must...stop him." _

_"How? Who? You must tell us more!" Harry desperately yelled. _

_"We cannot...We love you." _

_The scene faded to white, and Harry and Ginny disappeared._

Harry awoke with a start. Ginny was still laying next to him, asleep. After the dream with his mother's voice, they had each drifted into their own dreams. Harry contemplated the dream. She had asked them to find her...and they were running out of time. But who? If this woman was really his mother, was she hinting that they were still alive? Harry shook his head- that would be entirely too much to hope for. His parents were dead- Sirius saw his mother's body himself. None of it made sense.

Ginny stirred next to him, a slight smile on her face as she came into consciousness. Without opening her eyes, she wrapped her arm around him and snuggled closer into his shoulder. He laughed softly and kissed the top of her head. "Morning."

Her eyes opened and gazed up, locked in the stare of his emerald green. Harry once again felt the sensation in the back of his mind, and felt as though a badly tuned radio appeared there. "...love you...hope we...rest of...waking...like this..." He blinked rapidly and looked at her in confusion.

"Harry?" She worriedly felt his emotions, and saw everything was ok.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what?"

"I could hear your voice inside my head."

She stared at him. Dumbledore did say telepathy was possible, but this was entirely too soon. It hadn't even been a month! She turned red as she realized what she had been thinking earlier.

"For the record, I love you too, and I'd love to wake up like this every morning." He flashed a brilliant smile at her before kissing her lightly. They broke apart after a moment.

"What does it sound like?" she asked.

"Like a broken radio. I hear bits and pieces, but not everything."

She nodded. "So, can you hear this?" She concentrated hard.

Harry also concentrated on the pull in the back of his mind, and before long could make out, "...I want breakfast."

He broke into laughter, before thinking back, 'Of course you do! You're a Weasley!'

She gasped, and then hit him on the arm. "I only heard part of that, but I understood."

"Professor Dumbledore wanted to know about new developments. Should we tell him about this?" Harry asked.

"Well...only if you're comfortable. I know you didn't want him knowing about the dream, so I'll leave it up to you. I don't mind."

Harry nodded, and resolved to think about it later. At the moment, a more pressing need was his concern, and he made a trip to the loo.

When he came back, they got ready for breakfast and headed downstairs to meet Hermione. To their surprise, Ron was also there sitting next to her on the couch, although she was studiously ignoring him and he was attempting to recover from his terrible hangover.

"Hey mate, how you feeling?"

Ron glared up at Harry before replying, "Like dragon dung."

Harry laughed which caused Ron to wince. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Actually, I already ate so I'm just going to go sleep. See you at lunch," said Ron, and he stumbled up to the dormitory. Hermione released a deep breath after he departed, and sagged into the cushions of the couch.

"He doesn't remember anything," she muttered.

Harry looked at her in sympathy. It was obvious to everybody in the school that they belonged together, but Ron was too thick to actually do anything about it. Last night had been the first hint of progress in a long time.

"I'm sorry Hermione. He'll come around eventually. Maybe he just needs a kick in the arse," Ginny said, looking meaningfully at Harry. He nodded and silently promised to talk to Ron later.

"Well let's head to breakfast then- I want to finish this chapter before class," Hermione said, and they left for the Great Hall.

They indeed did not seen Ron until lunch, although he looked significantly better than that morning. Apparently he had even paid a visit to Madam Pomfrey for the hangover draught that his mother had hidden from him as punishment, as though her yelling and lectures weren't bad enough that morning.

During break that afternoon, Harry led Ron up to his room with the chessboard, looking for some quiet to bring up Hermione. They started the game, and as Ron was busily capturing his bishop, Harry asked, "So, what do you remember from last night?"

Ron flushed red, and Harry knew he had not been truthful when Hermione asked the same question. After a moment, he answered.

"Everything, mate. Everything."

"Did you mean what you said?" Harry pressed.

"Of course!" Ron looked shocked that Harry would say such a thing. "I've always liked Hermione, but last year is when I realized it for sure. I wanted to do something about it this year, but I'm afraid I really messed it up."

Harry laughed. "Ron, Hermione thinks you don't remember anything. That's your chance to ask her out the way you want to, not through some drunken proposal."

Ron paled. "I didn't ask her that, did I?"

Harry was confused for a moment before he realized what he said. "No mate, I just meant asking her to Hogsmeade."

Ron visibly relaxed. "I'm not sure what I should do then. I want it to be special, not just walking up to her and asking. Certainly not falling on my face and passing out." He grimaced at the memory.

"Maybe you should plan something this weekend- Saturday is two days away, you have time."

He took Harry's suggestion into consideration for a moment as he trapped Harry's queen and destroyed her with a knight.

"Maybe you can ask Ginny for help with flowers or something," Harry added.

Ron brightened. "I can go to the kitchens and ask for a picnic basket. I'll take her down to the lake. Brilliant, mate!"

Harry laughed at Ron's enthusiasm, and hoped this worked out for him. He wanted to see his best friends as happy as he was with Ginny. They played until dinner, where Harry and Ron joined Hermione and Ginny at the table. After dinner, Harry and Ginny were sitting in the common room when an idea popped into his head. He motioned for her to follow him and led the way up to their rooms.

"Stay here," Harry said, and ran into the bedroom. From his trunk he pulled his invisibility cloak and his Firebolt, shrinking it before racing back to the sitting room. He pulled the cloak over himself and Ginny and then carefully made their way down the stairs and our of the portrait hole. He led the way out onto the grounds, only stopping once to dodge Peeves as he set traps on the staircases for the inexperienced first years to run into. Their path ended at the Quidditch Pitch, where, once inside, he put away his invisibility cloak and enlarged his Firebolt. He mounted, and then motioned for Ginny to sit behind him.

Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his waist and he took off, zooming through the air and doing more and more complicated maneuvers just for fun. After diving and looping around the pitch, he landed and gave Ginny a solo turn. While watching her graceful ascent and daring moves, he knew that he was the luckiest man in the world to have her as his wife, and that whatever happened with his parents or Voldemort...as long as she was there, he would handle it.


	10. Chapter 10 Hopes and Dreams

Chapter 10

Time passed for Harry at an ever increasing rate. He figured it could be attributed to a deep sense of joy he had felt only once before since coming to Hogwarts, thanks to Ginny. By the time they entered October, things had begun to change drastically at Hogwarts- beginning with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Three weeks previously, the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years were waiting outside the classroom door, both groups separated yet anxiously discussing amongst one another the rumors about the newest addition to the staff.

"I bet he'll be bloody boring, or a prat like Lockheart," Ron predicted. Hermione's cheeks turned red, but she remained silent at his words. This was a strong display of her now open affection for Ron, as their date by the lake had gone quite well indeed and no quarrels had been heard lately. The rest of Gryffindor had an open pool going to see how long this arrangement would last.

"As long as he's not like Moody," Neville replied, shuddering at the memory of Moody's first lesson. The Cruciatus curse was not an easy demonstration for him, and Ron clapped him on the back in sympathy.

"Well, if he's even half the teacher Moody or Lupin were, we should be well off," Harry added. Just as he finished speaking, the classroom door behind him swung open. All talking died down, and no movement was made. Harry took a deep breath, turned on his heel, and walked through the entrance followed eagerly by the rest of the class. Nothing about the room had changed other than the absence of various annoying pink personal effects from it's previous occupant. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took their traditional seats in the front of the classroom. Their classmates instantly began their hushed conversations, nervous to see what the first lesson would bring.

While waiting for the professor, Harry felt an odd prickling feeling on the back of his neck, not unlike when Pettigrew had been lurking behind him. He kicked Ron's foot under the desk.

"Oi, mate, what-" Ron turned as he rubbed his foot, ready to argue with Harry, but the expression on his face caused Ron to fall silent and instantly become serious. "What is it?"

"Ron, something's not right," Harry muttered. He quickly scanned the classroom again before adding, "something or someone is in here with us."

Ron frowned for a moment, then nudged Hermione next to him and repeated the same information. She immediately went on alert, and all three drew their wands and hid them by their legs. While surveying the front of the classroom again, Harry's eyes paused on the teacher's desk. A piece of parchment had moved ever so slightly to the left, and just above he could detect an odd shimmer in the air. His eyes locked on the spot, and he muttered "desk" to Ron. Ginny's questioning presence radiated through his mind, but he suppressed it and focused only on the situation.

A moment later a beam of light streaked from the area he was staring at, but Harry was already two steps ahead of the perpetrator. Knocking back his bench, he leveled his wand and roared, "PROTEGO!" with as much force as he could muster. His shield formed an instant before the spell hit, with incredible results. The average Protego shield is about the size of the castor, yet Harry's spanned from one wall of the classroom to the other. Feeling the drain of energy, he quickly ended the spell as Ron and Hermione leapt into action and shot both Stupefy and Impedimenta spells. They were blocked, and a woman in silver robes appeared before them, hands held up in the universal symbol of surrender.

"Hold your fire," she said, smiling. "It would not do to hex your new professor unnecessarily on the first day."

Hermione immediately lowered her wand, and Ron followed suit. Harry, however, remained standing with his wand leveled on the woman before him. Her jet black hair was tied back in a long braid that went down her back, contrasting sharply with her pale complexion and clear blue eyes that gave the impression of looking into the ocean. She stood quite tall at Harry's own height, with an impressive athletic build. She chuckled at Harry's reluctance.

"Mr. Potter?"

"I'm truly sorry Professor, but I've already had too many teachers attempt to attack me in my years here. I hope you'll forgive me for being wary of you after a similar encounter occurred." Although he meant his words, they were spoke briskly and quite clearly sent the message that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Mr. Potter, I can assure you that Madame Larose is indeed your Professor." The tall sweeping form of Albus Dumbledore entered the room, his favorite midnight blue robes flowing behind him. Harry cautiously lowered his wand and retook his seat as the Headmaster made his way to the front of the room. He was still highly uncomfortable, but Dumbledore's presence demanded respect and so he reigned in his emotions for both his and Ginny's sake. She was pressing on the back of his mind, and he eventually gave her access to his thoughts. Quickly seeing what had happened, she determined that he was okay and withdrew back to Professor McGonagall's lesson.

"Students, may I present to you Madame Larose. She transferred early in her Auror career from the French ministry, and now has taken this teaching position. I ask that you make her feel welcome, and I can assure you personally that she will not give us the same troubles that her predecessor did." Professor Dumbledore glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye, and Harry relaxed slightly. "I take my leave now- good day."

Professor Dumbledore bowed his head to her, and exited the room. Madame Larose turned back to Harry.

"I understand your concerns, Mr. Potter. I wish you to understand that I had no intention of causing any harm, only to determine whether any in the class had sufficient observational skills. I suppose given your history, I might have given that some more thought." After she spoke for a moment, it was easier to recognize the remnants of her French accent, although it was heavily suppressed. "May I ask what tipped you off to my presence, Mr. Potter?"

"Er…well first I had this odd feeling that I was being watched. Kind of a prickling on my neck. I told Ron who passed it to Hermione, and we started scanning the room. I was looking at the desk when I saw that piece of parchment slide a bit to the right," Harry explained, indicating the motion. "I also saw a shimmer in the air above it, which led me to believe someone was disillusioned. I told them where I saw it, and we prepared."

She nodded approvingly. "Excellent job. Twenty points to Gryffindor for each of you, for your teamwork and keen observations. Twenty more for you Mr. Potter for shielding the entire class from harm." The Slytherins smirked at that and Harry felt his cheeks burn red.

"Observing your environment is an important defensive skill, as it is the gateway to improvisation. Improvisation could save your arses one day, so it's a method we'll be building on along with the traditional OWL courses." The students grinned at each other when she demonstrated her free use of language, and promises of a practical curriculum.

The rest of the class was spent assessing their skills in both theory and practical use. When the Gryffindors exited the class, they were enormously pleased with the new Professor and anxiously awaited the next class. When explaining to Ginny that night why her energy depleted and his emotions were on a high that class, she laughed and kissed him for being a "paranoid prat", and threatened him with the bat bogey hex if he ever scared her like that again. For the next two weeks, they enjoyed excellent defense classes that were a welcome break between the mounds of homework and exams they had for all their other subjects.

October 1, the ministry made itself known once again at Hogwarts. As Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sat at their usual spots, Ron took a long draught of juice before spraying it all over Harry.

"Ron!" he yelled, and Ginny grimaced as she siphoned the spray from their faces and robes. Shooting her a thankful glance, he turned to ask Ron what the bloody hell his problem was when he saw Ron's face going from pink to deep red, and his fists shaking. Turning to look in the direction of his best mate's gaze, Harry saw none other than Percy Weasley sitting on Hagrid's left side at the staff table. Ron's reaction had not gone unnoticed by the Twins, who were collectively being held down by Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet. Hermione had placed her hand on Ron's arm, giving him a warning look. He tore his gaze from his estranged brother to meet her eyes, nodded briefly, then shoved the rest of his breakfast in his mouth and took off nearly running for the Entrance Hall. The Twins followed shortly after, tailed by Katie, Alicia, Angelina, and Hermione.

Harry and Ginny were the only two left in their section, and Harry turned to see Ginny calmly eating her eggs and not giving her brother a second look. Her emotions were in complete turmoil, a mixture of rage and grief mixed together with a dash of hope. Taking her hand, Harry transmitted his calm feelings to her and watched her shoulders relax from their tensed state.

"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes closing for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Percy shooting them concerned looks.

"Want to go? We can take a walk around the lake before class," Harry suggested.

She nodded, shoving her plate away and taking one last draught from her goblet before hurriedly exiting the hall. Harry easily kept her pace, which didn't slow until they had made it to the edge of the lake. The dew was still fresh upon the grass, and the water was rippling near the center where the Giant Squid was no doubt lazing around, waiting for students to come too near to the edge. Harry drew his wand and performed a drying spell, creating a dry circle of grass up against a tree that they could sit on. Plopping onto the ground, he leaned his back up against the trunk and Ginny took a seat next to him, leaning into his side as his arm wrapped around her. Her emotions were still shifting, but not nearly as violently as in the Great Hall.

"Why?" she whispered. "Why would he even bother coming back here to face us? He hates us, I heard what he said to Mum and Dad."

"I don't think Percy hates you," he replied softly, placing his cheek on the top of her head. "It's impossible to hate your family, as warm and loving as they are. I think he's just being a prat, and from the looks he was giving us this morning- he's realized it."

He felt a wet patch against his robes where Ginny's escaped tears had soaked in.

"You know he used to protect me and Ron from Fred and George when we were little. He'd stop them from going to far, and made sure we were taken care of, especially after Charlie and Bill had left. We used to be so close, and seeing him again makes me want to hex him viciously…and then hug him."

Harry nodded, and together they sat in silence for a few moments until Harry realized that they were going to be late for class.

"Okay, you're right, we're going to be late. Let's go." Ginny abruptly stood, and Harry just stared at her confused.

"What?" she asked, self-consciously checking her robes for any marks or spills.

"Er….I didn't say anything about being late, Ginny."

Her brow furrowed. "You didn't?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I was thinking it, but I didn't want to interrupt whatever you were sorting through in your mind so I just kept it to myself."

"But I heard, loud and clear…" she shook her head. "I guess our bond is growing some more. We need some time to figure out what's going on, though. Can we meet out here for lunch and explore this a bit more?"

"Sure, I think that's a good idea," Harry replied, as he easily rose from the ground and rubbed his back where the bark had dug into it. Taking her hand, they quickly walked back to the castle and retrieved their bags, barely making it to classes on time. They went without a hitch until Harry was in Transfiguration and Ginny was in Potions. As he was working on reviewing a simple spell from the year before, Ginny's emotions suddenly bombarded his mind. They had been able to keep fairly tight control during lessons and there had been no interruptions since Harry's outburst at Umbridge, but this was completely different. Ginny was furious at whatever antics Snape had used today, and made no attempt to control herself for Harry. He felt his heart begin to pound, and he began shaking with anger that was not his own. The poor mouse on the desk before him cowered at the look in his eyes, and then words poured into his head as though someone had turned on a spigot at full force.

"…BLOODY IDIOT, HOW DARE HE SPOUT SUCH RUBBISH! IF HE WEREN'T A PROFESSOR, I'D SEND A BAT BOGEY CURSE HIS WAY SO POWERFUL HIS NOSE WOULD NO LONGER BE HOOKED!"

The rampage continued as Harry just froze and listened. Ron and Hermione had noticed his lack of movement and were gazing curiously at him, but he waved his hand and shook his head so that they didn't disturb him. Professor McGonagall, however, was a different story.

"Mr. Potter, is there a problem with your transfigurations?" She peered down at him, and her eyes narrowed as she took in the anger and frustration on his face but the confusion in his eyes. Understanding the situation, she lowered her voice and asked, "What is the matter with Ginny?"

Harry was shocked to hear her use such informal manners, but decided it didn't matter. He knew opening his mouth would be a bad idea, as the first thing that would fly out would surely be a hex of some sort. Instead he took up Ron's unattended quill, and scribbled a note to McGonagall, breaking the top as the end as his fist crushed the quill onto the parchment.

_Ginny furious at Professor Snape- she let her emotions loose. I might hex someone if I open my mouth. _

Professor McGonagall scanned the parchment, then quietly replied, "If she does not gain control in the next few minutes, I will excuse you to the Hospital Wing." Harry nodded and the Professor walked away. Concentrating on Ginny's torrent of insults towards the greasy-haired git, he felt her presence in her mind even moreso than usual, and attempted to speak with her.

'Ginny….Ginny you need to stop….GINNY!'

Hearing his last outburst, she faltered and he felt confusion mix with the anger, before understanding flooded in.

'Harry? Oh, I'm so sorry, did I let my emotions get out at you?'

He chuckled lightly, before replying, "Yes, just a bit. I had to clamp my mouth shut or I was going to hex someone."

She sighed and filled him in on the situation. 'This git of a Professor had the gall to talk rubbish about my family and you. Normally he just tortures the Gryffindors, but this was personal Harry. You should've heard what he was muttering about your parents.'

Harry gripped his wand tightly, and pushed down his rage. Being angry at Snape certainly wasn't going to help the situation. 'I'm sorry he upset you Ginny. If you just talk to me and finish your potion, maybe he won't be able to distract you enough to get under your skin.'

She agreed, and both resumed their lessons as if nothing happened, but mentally were drawing comfort and serenity from the presence of each other. Professor McGonagall observed the calm expression on his face, and he nodded slightly at her with a smile. He could've sworn the corners of her mouth were struggling to turn up, but the moment was gone an instant later. The bell rang, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione exited together.

"Mate, what was going on with you?"

"You had us so worried."

"Was something wrong with Ginny? Was she hurt?"

"Was it Voldemort?"

Harry stopped and waited for them to finish. Once Hermione had finally grown silent, he replied.

"Thanks for the interrogation, I appreciate that," he said sarcastically. "Ginny was riled at Snape for being the git that he is, and she lost control of her emotions. It hit me by surprise, but we got it under control."

Ron nodded, appeased, but Hermione looked as though dozens of questions were waiting to burst forth. At that moment they had reached the staircases, and Harry was able to part from them and meet Ginny in the Entrance Hall. Taking her hand, they strolled outside into the sun that had warmed the frigid weather of the morning and made it quite mild and unusually warm for October. They walked to the same tree as before, as it was quite secluded and gave them the privacy to discuss the situation. Harry placed a silencing charm around the area before laying down in the grass. As soon as Ginny joined him, he opened up his mind once again, and tentatively began the conversation.

'Hello?'

She giggled. 'This isn't a fellytone, Harry. I can hear you.'

'Telephone,' he corrected. "It seems our telepathy developed," he continued aloud.

"Way to state the obvious." She rolled her eyes, and laughed. He rolled over and tickled her sides, causing her to shriek with more laughter and try to push him off but to no avail. Finally, both out of breath from laughing, they stopped and cuddled back on the grass just enjoying the noon sun.

"We haven't had any of those odd dreams in a few weeks," she remarked thoughtfully. Harry suppressed a shudder- he knew the dreams were important, but they were so similar to his own Voldemort nightmares that he couldn't help but think he was being manipulated in some way. They had not yet found the proper moment to reveal these dreams to Dumbledore, and if Harry was honest with himself he was reluctant to do so. Although he suspected a trap of Voldemort's, he felt that it was his mother speaking to him in those dreams. To speak of it would be revealing an intensely personal experience for him, but also one that Dumbledore may be able to provide valuable insight into. He pulled Ginny unconsciously closer to him, landing a soft kiss on her forehead before replying.

"I know. In the last one though, she said our bond would strengthen and that we would be able to help. Only we don't know what's going on or who we would be helping."

Ginny thought for a moment. "Maybe with all the progress we've made this week, we might have another one soon that will reveal more answers."

"Perhaps."

They lapsed into silence once again and had almost drifted off when a loud gurgle interrupted the peace. Ginny tried to stifle her giggles, but was unsuccessful and rolled on the ground in laughing. Harry laughed at her antics, enjoying her happiness at his expense.

"You must really…be becoming a Weasley!" she gasped, standing and turning to take his hand. Pulling him up off the ground, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her soundly.

Fifteen minutes later, red faced and still laughing, Harry and Ginny made their way to the Great Hall to eat a quick lunch. Spying Percy still sitting up at the staff table, Harry turned to look warily at the other Weasley men. Sure enough, all three were sitting together with stony expressions on their face, shoveling food into their mouths as fast as they could. Hermione looked on, torn between disgust at their eating habits and anger at Percy. Taking their seats across from Ron and Hermione, they ate and then left the Great Hall together, separating on the stairs.

The rest of the afternoon was quite uneventful. Ginny needed to go to the library before dinner to research something for History of Magic, so Harry sat in the Common Room and received a thorough pounding at Wizards Chess by Ron. Hermione laughed at his repeated failures, pointing out moves that he missed. He didn't see Ginny until dinnertime.

While desserts were being served, Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat at the staff table and silence fell over the hall. Electric blue eyes shining behind his half moon spectacles, the Professor raised his hand and the hushed whispering halted as well.

"Students, we do have a few announcements this evening. First, a new member has been added to our staff this past week- Percy Weasley has been given the position by the Minister as the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. In his duties he will exercise the same authority as a teacher, and will be required to inspect classes. I ask that you show him the same respect that you would any other staff member."

Ron's face had turned red when he heard that his brother was reporting back to the Minister, and Fred and George were looking murderous as well. Percy stood for a moment as a brief smattering of applause sounded for him, before Dumbledore held his hand up once again and it died down.

"It is also to our great pleasure to announce that a Hogsmeade weekend has been scheduled for this weekend. There will be sufficient protection around the village, however I must ask that you stay within the confines of the main area so as not to wander off. Now, off you go!"

The benches squealed back and chattering filled the hall as the students eagerly discussed the Hogsmeade weekend to come. Some were also discussing how Percy was going to be inspecting Hogwarts- those that remembered him from his Prefect and Head Boy days were not looking forward to this at all. Having walked out with both Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny turned with them to take their usual shortcut to the seventh floor when someone behind them called their names.

Percy squeezed through the crowd and cautiously approached the four students, eyeing Ron's still bright red ears and Harry's neutral expression. He met Ginny's eyes and winced at the pain that he saw there. Hermione merely stared at him, wondering what this sudden encounter would bring.

"I er…I really want to speak with you four soon so that we can discuss a few issues. Would you be available tomorrow night in my office?" Percy nervously picked at the sleeve of his robes. Ron sneered and made to walk away, but Hermione gripped his arm and gave him a meaningful look. Succumbing to his girlfriend, Ron nodded sharply at his estranged brother and continued up the staircase. Percy looked relieved when Ginny also unspeakingly gave her consent, as did Harry. He bustled back through the Great Hall while Harry and Ginny slowly made their way up the steps.

Seeking to ease the tension that Percy's presence had caused, Harry thought about Hogsmeade and fought a grin as he realized that this would be their first actual date. Hiding the information and his plans behind a locked door in his mind so that Ginny wouldn't catch him thinking about it, they walked back in companionable silence to their rooms where they both undressed and curled up together in bed. Once in Harry's embrace, Ginny's emotions drastically cleared and she gazed up at his face from where her head rested on his chest.

'Merlin has he grown!' She thought to herself, admiring the way his face had lost its childish quality and was making the transition to manhood. There was even a slight scruff beginning to form under his chin. His black hair was messier than usual, having run his fingers through it during dinner and ruffled from shifting on the pillow. His eyes, not trapped behind glasses as they usually were, stared unencumbered down into hers. She could never resist those eyes, especially not when they stared down at her with such love and caring shining through. She could stare at them all night, except tomorrow was Friday and Harry had double potions again- an event that required decent sleep. Sighing, she shifted back to a comfortable position and shut her eyes, listening to his heartbeat and breathing that lulled her safely into sleep.

_The room had changed since they last entered. Instead of being barely visible, they could now see the walls easily and into the four corners of the cell. The rickety table that held the crystal was still present, although the crystal was glowing powerfully whereas before it had been barely luminescent. Ginny grasped Harry's hand, and gestured at the crystal. Ordinarily, the voice had spoken immediately as soon as they entered the dream, but not tonight. _

_He stretched his hand out for the crystal, which began to pulse quicker and quicker as his hand approached. Apprehensive, his fingers grazed the crystal and he gasped as a wave of emotions, sensations, and thoughts burst though him. Falling to his knees, Ginny knelt next to him also overcome by what they were feeling. There had been pain and loss, but also a deep love and caring that warmed them even in this dark place. _

_Glancing at Ginny again, she nodded and he reached out again to touch the crystal. This time he kept his finger on the top, and the feelings coursing through them continued. Images appeared in his head at random, too quickly for him to recognize anything or anyone. Then as soon as the torrent began, it stopped. Instead they were left with another presence within their bond. Ginny's hand was shaking in his, but he pushed forward, determined to receive answers. _

'_What's going on?' He asked mentally. _

'_You…you did it. You connected!' The voice was much stronger than it was before, and Harry felt tears prickle in the back of his eyes. There was no doubt now who the voice was- it was the voice of his childhood dreams, who sang him lullabyes and loved him as an infant. His mother. _

'…_Mum?' He asked to be sure, not knowing at this moment whether he was going crazy or rather getting his hopes up too early. He heard a gasp echo through his mind. _

'_You recognize me? Merlin, I can't believe it. Are you ok, Harry?' _

_He sat stunned at the question, and then nearly burst out laughing. Was he okay? He was communicating with his dead mum in a dream with his wife, and she wanted to know if he was okay. Ginny stroked his hand as she interpreted his feelings, and answered for the both of them. 'We're a little overwhelmed right now, Mrs. Potter.'_

'_Well, who do we have here? Harry, you've got to introduce me to your wife.' His mother was using the same affectionate voice that Harry had used on her just that afternoon. Both he and Ginny blushed in their dream, and she nudged him to do the honors. _

'_Mum, this is Ginny Potter, my soulmate.'_

'_It's a pleasure to speak with you Ginny. Hopefully soon we'll be able to meet in person.' _

_Harry stared at Ginny in confusion, who shrugged._

'_Mum, how can you meet us in person? How is this happening? You died that night…Dad…."_

_She shook her head and sent him the sensation of a soft hand patting his cheek. Comforted by the gesture, Harry pushed back his grief and focused on her answer. _

'_Harry, I cannot tell you tonight- this dream will not last much longer. But know that we are another step closer to the goal, and that you must stay strong. I will visit you in another few nights- this conversation has taken much of my strength.'_

_Harry nodded, knowing she would feel the gesture mentally. The lack of answers was going to drive him crazy, but having the opportunity to talk with his mother was one that he would not be complaining about._

'_We'll talk to you soon then,' Ginny said. 'Goodnight, Mrs. Potter.' _

'_Goodnight to you as well, Ginny and Harry.' _

_They felt her presence withdraw from their minds even as Harry took his finger off the crystal, and the room faded into oblivion, hurtling them towards consciousness. _

When Harry woke up that morning, his cheeks and Ginny's were tear stained. He turned and met Ginny's eyes, a slowly spreading grin on his face that she returned eagerly.

"Ginny…I think it's time we tell Professor Dumbledore. We're going to find my Mum, and bring her back to us."

Ginny embraced him eagerly and brought her lips to his, sealing his fate and bolstering his determination. He was going to bring Lily Potter back to the world.


	11. Chapter 11 Dementor Defence

CHAPTER 11

Ginny stepped out of the bathroom, using her wand to dry her hair while pulling her robes on. Harry woke that morning in a frantic, hurried mood and had been wearing a hole in the carpet in front of the fireplace for almost an hour. She had shut her thoughts off to him because the rate at which thoughts flew through his mind were giving her a headache. Then again, if she found out there was a chance that her previously deceased mother was coming back, she could imagine her head would be a little erratic that morning.

Stepping out into the living room, Harry was running his hands though his hair and muttering. Noticing her appearance, he stopped muttering and fidgeting, but she could feel his nervousness. They had decided that morning to talk to the Headmaster, a discussion that could slide either way based on what their luck had been in the past. Harry grabbed their school bags off of the armchair where they had been waiting, and reached his hand to her wordlessly. Taking it, she noticed it was slightly shaking and rather clammy. Instead of releasing it to walk though their separate doors, she pulled his body towards her and tilted her head up to reach his lips.

It was a soft, quick kiss- nothing to compose an epic tale of, but to Harry it was as effective as a passionate embrace and spread warmth from head to toes. He felt Ginny's mind embrace his with warm, calming feelings and hope swept though him. Smiling for the first time that morning, he pulled her towards him for a quick hug before parting to their separate staircases. Harry paused for a moment on his so as not to give the appearance of synchronization to everybody in the common room, which left ample time to organize his thoughts.

'I know I can do this…I can do this for Mum. She gave her life for me. I'm going to talk to Dumbledore, and bring her back. I can do this.'

And with that mindset, he descended the stairs and greeted Ginny before waiting for Ron and Hermione. Her love supported him until they entered the Great Hall, and he caught a glimpse of the Headmaster sitting upon his golden chair. The anxiety returned in full force, but with Ginny's help he was able to mask it from his best friends.

"Bloody prat…he has nerve staying here the year. I can't wait to see what Fred and George do to him," Ron whispered, gesturing at Percy, who had chosen to keep his head down staring at his plate.

"Ron, I agree he's been horrible, but it sounds like he really needs to talk to us. Let's wait until this afternoon to see about pranking and retaliation," Hermione suggested, though her speech was marred by the ugly look she shot Percy over her goblet when she thought nobody was watching. However, Ron's remarks had not distracted her from Harry and Ginny's silence. She caught his eye and raised an eyebrow, but a slight shake of the head barely reigned in the questions.

Ginny and Harry finished their breakfast, and then stood to go talk to the Headmaster. Walking hand in hand up the hall, they approached the Staff table. Professor Dumbledore looked up from his omelet.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley. What can I do for you?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Sir…you told us that if we had anything to tell you about our connection that was new, that we should inform you. We've had some recent developments lately- may we please speak with you at some point today?"

While he was speaking, Ginny saw Professor McGonagall give a slight flick of her wand under the table, along with a miniscule grin. She also noticed that Professor Flitwick, sitting on Dumbledore's immediate left, was completely unaware of the conversation. She caught McGonagall's eye and gave a grin in return.

"Of course, Mr. Potter. In fact I have just finished my breakfast, and we can head up to my Office right now if you like."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied. Dumbledore rose and swept out of the Hall, with Harry and Ginny following in his wake. There was no conversation until they reached the gargoyle, where Dumbledore gave his password ("Bertie Botts") and they entered the circular office. Fawkes was perched upon his stand next to Dumbledore's desk, looking at the peak of his condition and flew over to sit on Harry's leg. The phoenix's presence lent a reassuring feel and he felt a stronger trickle of hope seep through him as a melodious trill sounded from the crimson bird's beak. Professor Dumbledore took his seat behind his desk, and gazed curiously at the interaction.

"I have not seen Fawkes take to a student like that ever before," he remarked, as Fawkes allowed Ginny to stroke his feathers before flying back to his stand. "But it does not surprise me, considering your past in the Chamber. Enough of such topics- what new developments have occurred within your bond?"

Harry swallowed, and Ginny began explaining to give him time to gather his thoughts.

"Well, sir, a few weeks ago we had an odd dream. It's the only dream we've ever shared together. We were both in a very dark room, with a pale crystal on a table before us. It was a kind of cell, I think. There was also a table with a white sheet over something. But then there was a voice that spoke to us." She paused.

"What kind of voice?" asked Dumbledore sharply, "was it male, female, enchanting?"

"No sir, it was female…"

"It was my mother, sir," Harry croaked, feeling the tears at the back of his eyes but holding them back as best he could.

Professor Dumbledore sat back heavily in his chair, and stared at Harry. "Harry, your mother is…"

"I know, sir. Voldemort apparently cast Avada Kedavra on her, and she tried to spare my life. But not only did I recognize her voice from when I was a baby, we had a dream last night that confirmed it." Harry forced himself to look into Dumbledore's clear blue eyes, which were conveying both pity and sorrow for his situation.

"Harry, your mother died fifteen years ago."

"Sir, he's telling the truth," Ginny interrupted. She too had seen what Harry saw in his eyes, and didn't like the way Dumbledore had immediately dismissed the possibility. "We developed our telepathic powers over the past week, and this breakthrough allowed us to speak clearly with Harry's mom. She explained that this connection would help us bring her back, but the conversation had taken too much of her energy and she needed to wait another few days before talking to us."

Dumbledore nodded slowly, considering the facts. "Did you hear James Potter, by any chance?" he questioned.

Harry shook his head mournfully. His father had been on his mind just as often as his mother that morning, and he had to wonder whether his father was with his mother or truly dead. A thought occurred to him then.

"Professor, I asked Sirius over the summer…I asked him where my parents were buried, and what happened that night." Dumbledore looked confused, but Harry spoke before he could interrupt. "I know the story, sir, but there were some details I was missing. Sirius said that he stepped over…over my father's body, but that he never saw my mother's. Is there a possibility that…maybe Voldemort didn't kill her?"

Dumbledore looked decades older than usual, as his brow furrowed and his lips moved silently to the thoughts undoubtedly whipping about in his brain. He silently summoned another silver contraption towards him, and tapped the top with his wand. What he saw apparently surprised him, for he dropped his wand and sat back in his chair, eyes wide as a pale green glow enveloped the instrument. When it faded and the Professor hadn't moved, Ginny made to speak but the Headmaster raised his hand and forestalled her questions.

"Ginny…what you witnessed was the activation of an instrument I used to detect the status of Harry's parents during the time that they were in hiding. That night when I activated it, it glowed red and signified their death. I have not seen fit to activate it since. The pale green glow indicates the impossible, or what should be the impossible…"

"So you're saying we're right? That they could be alive?" Harry asked urgently.

"Harry, we cannot rush into things right now. We have to confirm the facts of that night. This instrument detects the movement of the soul into the abyss- in essence, whether or not your parents have moved on or not. Even if their soul is still here, what you seek may not be possible."

"Sir, Harry's mum said that she'd be back in a few days in another one of our dreams to help explain. Perhaps we'll get some answers then," suggested Ginny.

To their surprise, the Professor nodded. "I agree, Ginny. There is no way of knowing what exactly is going on here, and I think your mother's communication is the only way of knowing how we may bring them back to us."

Harry clearly was not comfortable with sitting around waiting for sleep, but recognizing defeat he slumped in his chair and attempted to wrap his mind around the situation. A sudden thought occurred to him.

"Professor, we need to let Sirius know."

Dumbledore turned to him from where he had stood to consult an aged book from the bookshelf along his desk. "No Harry, not right now. The less people who know the better," he said quietly.

"Sir, he's their best friend! He and Professor Lupin deserve more than anybody to find out what's happened," he argued, his voice rising and the portraits on the walls beginning to stir in annoyance.

"We cannot tell them until we're sure. It would be unnecessarily cruel to give them false hope. After your next dream when we have viable information, then we may inform both Sirius and Remus of the situation at hand," Dumbledore firmly stated, and waved his wand at a piece of parchment at his desk. "This will excuse you from your first class of the day. Please return to Gryffindor tower until your next class," he said.

Recognizing the dismissal, Harry and Ginny slowly walked back to the Common Room hand in hand.

"I can't believe this is happening, Ginny," he whispered as they sank into their favorite armchair by the fire. The enormity of what had just occurred caught up to him, and tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes no matter how hard he attempted to suppress them. Ginny, who had once again situated herself on his lap, held her head to him and wiped his tears as he wept for his parents, and their friends. Drying his cheeks, he pulled her towards him and she settled on his shoulder, just letting him hold her until he relaxed. She felt his tensed shoulders relax and he drifted off into sleep.

An hour later, the bell rang and woke both Harry and Ginny up from where they were sleeping in the chair. Surprised, she saw the sun in the window had risen up much higher than previously thought, and recognized the herd of Gryffindors making their way back up to the tower for break before lunch. Quickly relaying this to Harry, they quickly ran back up to their rooms and waited for the inevitable. Sure enough, a timid knock sounded on the door, along with Hermione's voice.

Ginny opened the door on the girl's staircase and Harry opened the boys, knowing that Ron would only be a few seconds behind. His best mate nearly fell into the room from where he had been leaning against the door about to knock, and steadied himself.

"You alright mate? Where have you been?"

"Harry, you really shouldn't skip classes, this is OWL year. Professor Sprout was not impressed."

Harry snorted. Somehow, he figured that Professor Sprout would get over his absence.

"We're fine, really. We just had a rather exhausting discussion with Dumbledore that took most of the morning, and we didn't want to go to class," he explained. Hermione was clearly bursting with questions, but restrained herself at Ron's look.

"I see. Well, we got a note right after class and Percy wants to see us before dinner tonight," she explained. Ron's face tinged pink at the news, but he otherwise made no outward sign of aggression towards the impending meeting with his estranged brother. Ginny also remained calm, even in her emotions, and Harry was proud to see her control in the situation.

"We'll meet you on the fifth floor- we have Care of Magical Creatures last," Harry said to Ginny, and she nodded. "Where is Percy's office anyways?" he asked.

"Up on the Sixth floor, past that portrait of the three drunk hags," Hermione answered. Ron checked his watch as she spoke. "Oi, Harry, fancy a little flying before lunch? We have almost an hour."

Considering it for a moment, Harry looked at Ginny. 'Do you want to come?' he asked mentally.

'I'd love to, but you need your manly time. I'll hang out with Hermione,' she answered, clearly amused but heartened that he had thought to ask. He turned back to Ron.

"Yeah, let me grab my broom and we'll go."

Harry and Ron walked back through the Entrance Hall, after a half hour of flying and racing along the pitch. The tension of the morning had drained off of Harry in the air, leaving him with the odd feeling of walking on air. Just as they reached the bottom of the staircase, they spotted Hermione racing down the stairs towards them.

"Er….what's the rush Hermione? Someone check out the last copy of Hogwarts, A History?" Ron joked, reaching over to poke her ribs lightly with a goofy grin. She rolled her eyes, but gave a small laugh before adopting a more serious expression.

"Percy just sent a message for us to meet him in his office."

Ron scowled, and clenched his fists, but nodded curtly. Harry mentally contacted Ginny, who was waiting for them a few floors above near the stairs, and found that her emotions were calm and even.

"Let's go then," Harry said, and the trio trooped up to the fourth floor and met Ginny. Taking her hand, Harry sent more relaxed feelings to her as they walked down the hall to a blank stretch of wall next to a painting of two hags.

"Weasley Feast," Hermione said, tapping the wall twice with her wand. Ginny and Ron looked at each other in momentary surprise as a door appeared on the wall, and swung open.

_'That was what we all called anything Mum cooked when we were little_,' explained Ginny. _'It was a joke between all of us that we haven't used in years. I'm surprised he remembers.' _

Harry adopted a thoughtful expression as she explained this to him, and thought just maybe there was more to Percy than petty ambitions.

The group looked around impressed as they entered the room. It was modest for a teacher's office (then again, Percy wasn't a teacher), but still handsomely decorated and warmed with a small fireplace. A desk to their left was laden with paperwork, and they automatically turned to it expecting to find Percy hidden behind the stacks on his chair. Ron moved closer to peer over them as a previously unnoticed door next to the fireplace opened, and Percy entered the room.

'Er…hello," he stammered, nervously cleaning his horn rimmed glasses on his robes and gesturing to the seats by the fire. "Please have a seat, we have much to discuss."

Ron never stopped glaring as he dropped into his seat, and Hermione kept her hand in his (most likely to ensure that it would not go flying into his brother's face). Ginny and Harry sat opposite them, and Ginny had adopted a stoic expression that seemed to fool everybody except Harry, who could feel the burning curiosity and tint of sadness. Percy conjured another chair for himself, and then with another wave of his wand tea and biscuits appeared on the small table before them.

"I suppose you're all wondering why you're here, or rather why I am here," he began. Ron snorted.

"Yes, please, tell us Percy how you can possibly show your face here after what you said to Mum and Dad," Ron sarcastically replied.

Percy's eyes dropped to the floor, and he rubbed his palms together. "You're not making this any easier," he murmured.

"Yeah, well this hasn't been a cakewalk for the rest of us either!" Ron yelled, snapping out of his chair and tearing his hand out of Hermione's. "YOU TELL DAD THAT HE'S WORTHLESS, THAT HE'S BRINGING YOU DOWN AFTER EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE FOR US! AFTER DAD PULLED STRINGS TO GET YOU THAT JOB!" Hermione gasped, and Percy looked up at Ron visibly pale.

"What?" he choked.

"Yeah," snarled Ron, "Dad's "pathetic influence" clearly hasn't worked well with you? Well it's because of him that you started so high up Percy! They wanted to make you a messenger, did you know that?"

The brothers just stared at each other, as Ginny covered her mouth with her hand and Hermione soothingly rubbed Ron's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

_'I never knew that….with Percy's pride, it's going to be killing him,' _Ginny whispered into Harry's mind. Harry agreed with her, and then stood up and walked in front of Ron.

"Hey mate, look. I don't agree with what Percy's done, but he's here to explain something to us so let's listen before ripping his head off, ok?"

Ron glared one last time at the top of Percy's head, which was now in his hands, and stomped back to his chair.

"Ok Percy, let's hear it," said Harry, as they took their seats and waited for him to speak. Percy sighed, and then sat back up and stared into the fire as he began his story.

"After I had been working at the Ministry for a short while, I stopped coming home for lunch because it was quicker to eat there. I began feeling odd after a few weeks, my head would always be fuzzy and I was much moodier than I could ever remember being even in Hogwarts. Small things began to irritate me more and more, and I began feeling an odd surge of anger whenever I looked at our parents." He took off his glasses and began slowly cleaning them on his robes, looking much like Mr. Weasley himself.

"That night, I exploded. I couldn't believe what came over me, but the words tumbled out of my mouth before they could be stopped. As soon as I left, I wanted to return but something made me believe that there would be no home for me there if I ever wanted to reconcile. Two days later, as I sat to eat my lunch, Professor Dumbledore visited me. He had ordered a similar lunch to mine and after one bite, he did a spell over it. After looking closely at my eyes, he brought me here to see Professor Snape. They gave me a potion and my mind immediately cleared." Percy stopped to replace his glasses carefully and take a sip of tea.

"So you had been poisoned somehow?" Harry asked.

"Right in one. Someone had been giving me the Draught of Despair, a little known potion designed to make you miserable and reject everything that makes you happy. Family has always been what makes me happy, so this potion had me say whatever was necessary to get my family out of my life."

"I've never heard of this potion," Hermione interrupted.

"That's because it's very dark, and the instructions are located in very few books," Percy explained. "Access to such material would mean the person would have to be very high up in the Ministry indeed."

Ron's hands had unclenched, and he was now looking at his brother with a suspicious rather than murderous expression. "So Dumbledore figured out that you were being poisoned, and then you did nothing to tell the rest of us about this?"

"Let me finish, Ron," Percy said hurriedly. "At that point, I was quite high up in the Ministry despite what had happened with Mr. Crouch. Being the Minister's assistant gave me a lot of in-depth knowledge as to how the Ministry was functioning. Professor Dumbledore requested that I remain estranged to the family, and become a spy within the Ministry. I wanted to give Mum and Dad time to let what I said pass over, and working for the Order was the easiest way to begin to repay what suffering I'd caused them."

"They still suffered every day," Ginny said quietly. "Mum would cry when she thought none of us were watching, and Dad stayed strong but you could see it in his eyes."

"I know, Ginny," he replied, equally softly. "But at that point, I needed to help the Order. That's what I've been doing since then. After Dolores Umbridge, Fudge needed to save some face. He thought the best way to establish control in Hogwarts would be to send me to carry out his orders. Professor Dumbledore was most pleased with this decision, as I still have to return to the Ministry once per month to report my findings to the Minister."

"Does anybody else know you're a spy?" Harry asked.

"No, only Professor Dumbledore."

"Then why tell us?" asked Ron. "Why let us know?"

"Because Ron, I can hardly spend the entire school year dodging you. And I know that you four can keep this from Mum and Dad. I can't tell Fred and George, but I'd appreciate if you'd get them off my back for awhile."

Ron gave a bark of laughter before replying. "Yeah, right. They still thing you're pond scum, same as me before you brought me in here. Watch what you eat and drink, Percy."

Percy smiled slightly. "Is it possible I can ask you to forgive me then? All of you?"

Ginny stood up and crossed the room, pulling Percy to his feet before wrapping her arms around him. Ron stood hesitantly when she had let go, and slowly extended his hand, which Percy took gratefully. Harry did the same, and Hermione smiled at the peaceful ending of the meeting.

"Lunch is going to start soon, you should all get a move on before Fred and George think we're all back on the same page," Percy said, and everyone said their goodbyes before heading towards the Great Hall.

"I can't believe that just happened," Ron said, shaking his head. "I wondered once when it had just happened, but….to hear his story myself and the reasons behind it…" still shaking his head, Ron headed down the staircase with Hermione's hand in his.

"Ginny, you're ok?" Harry asked in concern. She had been quiet most of the meeting, her emotions calm and steady.

"Of course Harry, I knew something wasn't right with him. I just couldn't pin it down," she explained. "Whenever I mentioned it to my brothers, they would say that his git tendencies finally took over completely."

Harry laughed, and then looked around the hall to see that it was empty before pulling her into a deep kiss. Both in their own worlds, they didn't notice Professor Dumbledore round the corner of the hall and stop suddenly in his tracks. After a few seconds, he quietly cleared his throat and Ginny and Harry jumped apart, red faced and grinning sheepishly.

"While I always say love is the greatest power, Mr. Potter, I suggest that you not announce it quite so boldly in the halls," he remarked, chuckling lightly at their increased redness.

"Sorry Professor," giggled Ginny.

"Sorry, Sir. Did you find anything on my Mum yet?" At Dumbledore's silence, Harry instantly became serious.

"Not yet, Mr. Potter. I shall send for you immediately if any information is found."

Harry nodded, then took Ginny's hand and went down for lunch.

Hogsmeade weekend had arrived, and Ron and Harry were anxiously getting dressed. Ron had tried on four sweaters, and was currently the only one left in the Boys Dormitory. Ginny had left while Harry was still in the shower, so Harry was also attempting to clean up his appearance. Finally both boys were satisfied with their appearances and met on the stairs, racing down to the Common Room to see Hermione and Ginny waiting in the armchairs, backs to the staircase.

Harry walked up behind Ginny stealthily and covered her eyes with his hands.

"Hm, I wonder who this could be…." She laughed before removing his hands and pulling his head down for an upside down kiss.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, before stealing another kiss. Ron loudly cleared his throat, and grunted when Hermione elbowed his ribs.

"What? We need to get going!" Harry shook his head as he held his arm out for Ginny, and the four walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

After taking their seats, Fred and George came and sat on either side of Ron and Hermione.

"Hey, Ickle Ronnikins, be sure to watch our dear brother in about three minutes," George hinted, winking at Harry and Ginny.

"Yeah, ought to be interesting," Fred snickered, before they hopped up and sat with their friends near the front of the table.

"Are you going to warn him?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Nah, I think one prank will do him good," Ron said, grinning broadly. "Then he'll really be forgiven in my book."

To Harry's surprise, Ginny agreed. _'That's just how it works in our house, Harry. Pranks are a way of life…or revenge more like it.' _

A puff of smoke engulfed the staff table, and when it cleared Percy had been relocated so that he was standing on top of the table, arms out, with every stitch of clothing removed except for a fiery red bikini. His eyes were moving about frantically, and the Great Hall burst into rounds of laughter as they realized that he couldn't move. Professor Dumbledore quickly waved his wand, and looked surprised when no change was made to Percy's situation. Frowning, he pointed his wand at Percy's bikini and transfigured it into a set of plain black robes before moving closer to examine his situation. Fred and George were in stitches a few places down, and Ron had fallen off of his bench in laughter. Ginny was trying heroically to suppress her laughter, but was failing miserably. Harry was equally amused, but still felt bad for Percy after being in a similar situation once with Dudley's gang. Removing his wand from his robes, he quickly pointed it at Percy and said the counter-curse for the sticking charm on his feet, followed by the Petrificus Totalus counter-curse. Percy quickly clambered off the table, and rushed into the door behind the staff table.

"Bloody brilliant!" Ron yelled at the twins, who bowed slightly with a devilish look in their eyes. As they got up to leave the hall, Hermione stopped them. "I thought you were going to turn him into something?" she said.

"Ah yes, but we figured-"

"There's really nothing more terrible we could turn him into-"

"Then himself!" They finished together.

Harry turned to Ginny as the Twins exited the hall. "Ready to go?" he asked, excitement plainly visible on his face. She took his hand and they both stood, waving goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and walked out to the path to Hogsmeade.

They were silent the way there, just enjoying the beautiful day (one of the only days at Hogwarts where there were beautiful clear skies), and openly sharing emotions. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see the smile playing about her face and the glint of the sun on her hair, making it appear as if on fire. He caught a that had tugged itself loose of the braid she wore it in, and tucked it back behind her ear. She smiled at him, and the direction at which his thoughts had turned.

In this manner, they eventually reached Hogsmeade.

"Where would you like to stop first?" Ginny asked. She had noticed Harry was a tad preoccupied, and got the impression that he had an errand to run.

"Well, I do need to go run some errands, would you care to join me?"

She grinned as Harry steered them towards the end of the main street, where the Post Office was. As they entered, Harry strode up to the counter while Ginny waited, looking at the many sizes and speeds of owls available, stopping to pet the smallest that reminded her of Pig. At the same time, she kept an eye on Harry. His mind was strangely sealed to her, and he was nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet. The clerk behind the counter handed over a small package for him, which he opened and checked before sliding into his pocket and walking over to Ginny.

"He's cute", he remarked as he too stroked the tiny bird, who was obviously glowing with all the attention. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go to Zonkos- maybe they'll have something new out."

Harry snorted- Zonkos hadn't come out with any new products in ages, and the Weasley twins were well on their way to bypassing their legacy with the things Harry had seen at Grimmauld Place. "Alright, let's have a look then."

After exploring Zonkos, Harry and Ginny stopped by Scrivenshafts for parchment and quills, and then meandered along exploring random shops as they passed. As they headed to the Three Broomsticks to meet Ron and Hermione, a cold feeling of dread passed over Harry and he shivered unconsciously. Both turning on the spot, Ginny paled as she saw hundreds of Dementors gliding swiftly towards the village. Harry automatically placed himself in front of Ginny, and grabbed her hand preparing to do their dual patronus. They were so far out of hearing from the rest of the village that no help would be immediately available, and the Dementors were gaining far too swiftly. A faint cry began to sound in Harry's mind, which was mirrored in Ginny's through their connection. She shuddered, as Harry had never shared what it was he heard when Dementors came near and now understood why.

Gathering their full strength, they yelled "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A massive stag and lion burst out of their wands, charging the Dementors and dwarfing them out of sheer size. Amazingly, as the patroni reached the Dementors, the great black figures dissolved into nothingness. Within moments, there was no visible sign of their presence and their patroni evaporated.

Ginny sat stunned- never before had she ever seen a force that would destroy Dementors. She assumed that Azkaban had a method of controlling them, but it was general belief that Dementors were inherently evil, soulless beings whose origin was unknown. There were many who theorized that they came from the afterlife itself, similar to a twisted form of reincarnation. What had happened here was nothing less than extraordinary.

While Harry had not as much background knowledge of Dementors, he followed Ginny's train of thought and truly realized the implications of this event. While they stood rooted to the spot, Professor Dumbledore had apparated to the village merely feet behind them and was looking around in confusion.

"Harry, Ginny, I detected the presence of a large horde of Dementors nearly upon Hogsmeade. May I ask what happened here?"

The couple slowly turned around to face Dumbledore, shock still evident on their faces. It was Harry who found his tongue first.

"Professor, there were hundreds of Dementors coming in from that direction," he began, pointing back behind him. "Ginny and I saw them, but they were gaining too fast to run for help. We cast our patroni at the same time, but when they hit the Dementors….they vanished."

"Your patroni vanished?" Dumbledore asked sharply. Before he launched into another set of questions, Ginny held up her hand.

"No professor, the Dementors. They disintegrated."

It was in fact a rare moment to see a wizard such as Professor Dumbledore struck speechless. He could count on one hand the number of times such an event occurred. But hearing that a previously immortal being now held a vulnerability…he couldn't process it quickly enough. Several theories immediately made themselves known in his head, but he debunked a few before coming upon the most likely answer.

"Sir?"

Professor Dumbledore looked up, startled, as he realized that he had been standing there for more than a few minutes simply muttering under his breath. Straightening his midnight blue robes, he prepared to explain the situation.

"Dementors are thought to be the most evil forms to walk this Earth- they want nothing other than the souls of good people. They thrive in populated areas, and make the rest of the human population miserable. The patronus charm is so effective because it is a manifestation of good feelings- feelings such as love, elation, happiness. Feelings such as these cannot be understood by Dementors, and so repel them. Your patronus, especially with your bond, has become so powerful that it is actually a physical manifestation of pure love. That itself destroyed the Dementors, or so I believe."

"Sir, isn't that similar to how Professor Quirrel died in my first year?" Harry asked.

"It is indeed similar, yes Harry."

"But, it destroyed him because he was sharing his body with Voldemort. So love could theoretically thwart Voldemort forever?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Perhaps now is not the time to speak of such things. We will reopen this topic when I discover any news of your mother."

Harry nodded, and pulled Ginny close as Dumbledore vanished with a soft crack. Sharing their close embrace for a few minutes, she finally pulled away and took his hand softly. Silently, they enveloped each other in their feelings and paid no attention to the outside world, simply being there and content to be together. It was several minutes before Harry spoke again.

"I don't feel like going to the Broomsticks anymore."

Ginny nodded, and agreed. Silently, they trudged back up to the castle and entered their rooms. Ginny curled up on the sofa next to Harry in front of the fire, and they slowly drifted away to sleep.

Harry awoke minutes before dinner, with Ginny still in his arms. The room had grown dark, lit only by the still blazing fireplace. He felt no inclination to move, except for the loud gurgle that resonated throughout the room. Ginny stirred on his chest, and gave a soft giggle as she realized what had woken her up.

"Hungry, love?"

"Just a little," Harry grinned. "We should go down for dinner- Ron and Hermione will wonder where we've been all day."

Readjusting their clothes, they took off down their separate staircases into a surprisingly empty Common Room. Normally, before dinner there were at least a few people sitting around playing Exploding Snap or attempting to hastily finish essays. The silence was eerie, and their suspicions grew as they met nobody on the way down the staircase.

Their suspicions were put to rest as they came upon the large crowd waiting in front of the Great Hall- both had forgotten that Dinner was right after Hogsmeade curfew, and many didn't bother going back to their common rooms before. Still standing on the stairs, Harry managed to spot Ron and Hermione in the crowd, and they hurriedly made their way towards them.

"Oi, mate, where have you two been?" Ron asked, suspiciously gazing at their clothes.

"Ron, we came back from Hogsmeade and fell asleep!" Ginny retorted, her anger beginning to heat up at her brother's assumptions. She lowered her voice slightly. "We were a bit worn out after attacking about 150 Dementors that had shown up on the edge of Hogsmeade!"

Ron and Hermione gaped at them, but before any response could be given, the doors to the Great Hall were opened. The feast was delicious as normal, and at the end of dinner Professor Dumbledore stood up for his evening announcements.

"Good evening, I hope you all enjoyed a splendid Hogsmeade trip this afternoon!" There was a general murmur of assent, which quieted quickly. Dumbledore frowned and gazed seriously at the students before continuing. "There was a disturbance this afternoon near Hogsmeade village that involved several Dementors nearly breaching the boundaries of the village. I feel it's important to notify you all of this to impress upon you the need for caution and vigilance. The magical world is at war- while we will still permit Hogsmeade excursions at this time, I must ask that you all consider your safety and be wary of straying far out of the center of the village."

Several students had gone pale at the mention of Dementors, and the Great Hall was eerily silent. Dumbledore continued.

"On a happier note, Quidditch season is soon upon us and you may find the dates for tryouts and practices on your House notice-boards. With that being said, off to bed!"

Harry had scarcely stood up before Angelina Johnson had bounded up to him.

"Harry! We're going to need you at tryouts this week to help with picking new team members. Make sure that you're there!" She was practically bouncing on her toes with excitement, and Harry couldn't help but grin. "Of course, I'll be there!"

Ginny and Harry walked back up to the Common Room and spent time individually with their friends, but keeping a constant connection through their bond. Once it got late, both rose and excused themselves, meeting in their room. They dressed for bed and sank into the pillows, holding each other closely and dreaming of sun-filled days with Quidditch and each other's company.


	12. Chapter 12 Lily Answers

CHAPTER 12 – LILY'S ANSWERS

Harry squinted and tilted his head, desperately attempting to locate the elusive snitch. The roar of the crowd below him was a pleasant hum to his ears due to the high altitude and whipping wind. Scouting for the snitch from his vantage point took him slowly circling the snitch, carefully keeping tabs on Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker. The match commentary was also a victim of the wind, but at the last count Gryffindor was up by 70 points.

November had passed in a blur, and before he knew it, he was playing the last Quidditch game before Christmas break. Angelina had run the team ragged through all weather and all hours, especially after seeing the Lion's newest keeper in action. Ron had found his rhythm in the past few games. The confident talented keeper on the goals now was a completely different person from the green-faced nervous player who first took the field. Gryffindor was now at the top of the standings, untouched by any other team.

As he scanned the pitch again, he periodically stopped to glance at Sirius. His godfather was sitting in the stands next to Dumbledore, choosing to surprise Harry just moments before the match began. Remus couldn't make the game, but promised that he would see Harry over the break. From Sirius' grin he would switch his gaze to Ginny, whose mind was shut tight in the interest of fairness to the other team. She was part of a group of students holding another one of Dean's famous famous homemade banners with a large Gryffindor lion that growled and roared realistically (Hermione's charm work, he suspected). The crowd cheered as Ron made another spectacular save, when a glint of gold just under Ron's broom caught his eye.

He shot towards the goal, flattening himself against the broom handle. Ron saw his approach and held completely still. The snitch rocketed out from under him and circled around before diving towards the ground with Harry in hot pursuit. His velocity only increased as he hurtled towards the ground, pulling up seconds before ploughing into the frozen soil. He tailed the snitch as it raced between bludgers and chasers, noting that Cho Chang was far gone behind him and unable to match the speed of his Firebolt.

Executing a roll around Katie Bell, the crowd held their breath as he stretched his fingers towards the tiny ball. Just as he was nearly about to crash into the stands, his hand closed around the snitch and he came to a screeching halt inches away from Sirius and Professor Dumbledore, both of whom cheered him on.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS, TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY TO FIFTY!" boomed Lee, as the crowed exploded into cheers and chants for Gryffindor and ignoring the typical boos from Slytherin. Harry opened his mind up to Ginny and intense waves of excitement and pride rushed through him. Just as he was turning to fly back to his teammates, a sharp pain accompanied by a dull thud echoed through his head, and he knew nothing more.

_Opening his eyes, momentary confusion engulfed him. Rather than waking to the crisp linens and smell of potions he had come to associate with the Hospital Wing, he was gazing at the familiar dungeon of his dreams facing the table with the sheet. Turning around, he was met with an unexpected sight- rather than the glowing white crystal that had once occupied that space stood a red-headed woman. She was slight and perhaps an inch shorter than Harry, with hair just slightly darker than Ginny's. But what truly captivated his attention were her piercing emerald eyes. _

_ "Hello there, Harry." She smiled, and softly walked towards him. His feet felt frozen to the floor, though out of shock or happiness he would never know. She approached him and gently placed her hand on his cheek. He could smell the familiar vanilla scent that had so often occupied his earliest memories, and leaned into her palm. "Mum?" he croaked. _

_ "Yes, sweetheart. It's me."_

_ He gazed at her a moment before pulling his mother into their first hug. Finally pulling away a few moments later, Lily wiped tears from her eyes and walked him over to a nearby stool within the cell. It was then that Harry found his voice again. _

_ "How are you here? Ginny and I haven't seen you in a month, and Dumbledore had no answers. We were beginning to…to lose hope." His face crumbled at this, remembering how close he had come to giving up on all hope of hearing her voice again. _

_ "Talking to you in this form takes a lot of power, dear. The bond that you and Ginny have has intensified even more, meaning that I can appear for longer periods of time. I waited a little longer so that I could appear in person to explain this situation." She took a breath and attempted to flatten his hair, grimacing when it resisted. "You obviously inherited your father's unruly mop." _

_ "Mum, where are you? And where is Dad?" Harry asked. After waiting a month with diminishing hope, he had become desperate for answers. Before his mother could speak, however, he felt a warm presence within his mind. It intensified, and he gasped as Ginny herself materialized before him. _

_ "Hey Harry, I figured you were back here when I couldn't view your dreams. I'm glad to see you're alright, that was a hell of a-" _

_ She broke off as she spotted Lily Potter sitting casually next to her son. Their resemblance was uncanny, according to Harry. Lily stood and pulled Ginny into an embrace. _

_ "It's nice to finally meet my daughter-in-law," she said, smiling. Ginny stood shocked. _

_ "It's...truly amazing to meet you too," Ginny replied, going to stand next to Harry. Lily stood before them with a now slightly nervous expression, clearly debating where to begin her explanation. _

_ "Harry, Ginny- first off I apologize for keeping you in the dark so long. I need to explain this all at once, which is why I needed to conserve my power and energy. Harry, you asked me where I am. Physically, I am in an ancient dungeon below the Castle of Slytherin. My body lays preserved by time, while my soul is bound to the white crystal you so often saw sitting by the table." _

_ "So, you're saying that your soul is separated from your body?" Harry asked, confused. Ginny looked equally flummoxed. "I suppose if Dementors could do it then it makes sense, but Voldemort actually found a way to contain someone's soul in a rock?" _

_ "Yes," she answered sadly. "He was working on a new form of dark magic that involved trapping the souls of innocent people and using their energy to power himself. You can imagine how invincible he would be." _

_ "A super powerful Voldemort? No thank you," Ginny said, shaking her head. _

_ "You should ask Professor Dumbledore to explain soul trappings to you, as I happen to know he has research on another kind called horcruxes. They may be vital to your eventual defeat of Voldemort, regardless of what the prophecy may say," Lily explained sadly. _

_ "Er…what prophecy?" Harry asked. _

_ Lily's eyes snapped up to meet his, and her gaze darkened. "You're telling me that Professor Dumbledore has yet to inform you of the prophecy?" _

_ "Well, considering we've never heard a prophecy nor has Professor Dumbledore mentioned it…I'm going to say no," Harry replied. Ginny let out a slight giggle which drew their attention. _

_ "I'm sorry, but you two just sound so similar…" she chuckled and shook her head, gesturing for Lily to continue. _

_ Lily's gaze softened slightly. "Good to know Harry inherited my temper. I suppose you also are a mischief maker just like your father?" she asked. _

_ Harry grinned. "Well, maybe not quite as bad. I'm tame compared to Sirius these days." Lily groaned at that before sighing and continuing the previous topic _

_ "You must demand that Professor Dumbledore explain all of these things to you. One of these days you're going to have to face Voldemort, both of you, and you will need to be as prepared as possible even if I never get out of here." _

_ "We'll find a way, Mum. We will get you back." Ginny had rarely seen Harry with such an intense expression, which conveyed the depth of feeling he was having at that moment. Lily squeezed his hand before continuing. _

_ "The last thing I have to say is- you asked where your father went. I have no idea, Harry. I cannot feel him through our bond like this even though I should. I hold hope that we can find him."_

_ "You're the other couple Dumbledore knew! You're how he gathered the information on soul bonds!" Ginny exclaimed. _

_ At this outburst, Lily simply placed her face in her hands and shook her head. "Didn't he tell you anything?" she murmured, just loud enough for Harry and Ginny to hear. She then looked up suddenly. _

_ "I'm running out of time again, so this is where we part. You most likely will see me again in a few weeks depending on how much power accumulates by that time. From there I can give you more answers." _

_ Harry stood immediately and enveloped his mother in another hug, knowing that the time to go was close. She kissed his forehead softly and patted his cheek before hugging Ginny as well. _

_ "Good luck you two- I know you can do this." _

Ouch.

Barely opening his eyes, Harry could just make out the ceiling of the Hospital Wing before a sheet of red obscured his vision. Cracking his eyes open more revealed Ginny reaching across his bed for a vial on his nightstand full of a purple fluid.

"Hey there, beautiful," he croaked. She smiled down at him and uncorked the vial.

"Hey there yourself. Complimenting me is not going to get you out of taking your potions though," she teased, and held it up to his mouth. Although it stung his throat on the way down, the throbbing in his skull lessened considerably. Reaching back, he felt a turban of bandages on the back of his head.

"Ah, Mr. Potter- you're awake." Madame Pomfrey hurried across the room and began using her wand to perform diagnostic scans. She nodded satisfactorily before turning back to face him.

"A bludger randomly attacked you yesterday after the match- nobody had touched. You had a cracked skull, but I mended it. It's going to be sore for a few days. Provided that you behave, I will let you out tomorrow as long as you check in at lunch for the first week after that." She sniffed. "I suppose we might as well get a bed in here just for you, ."

Harry laughed, and thanked the matron before she walked away. Ginny was sitting by his bedside holding his hand in hers. It felt nice to feel her smaller hand within his, even if he could also feel her suppressing all her worrying for him in the back of her mind.

_'We should probably talk about that dream,' _she whispered mentally, gazing into his eyes the whole time.

_'Yeah…I can't believe I actually met my Mum. She's amazing,' _Harry replied wistfully. He missed having his mother's arms around him, even if he had only experienced it briefly.

_'She is, and she's extremely beautiful. I can see why your Dad was always infatuated with her.' _

_ 'What are we going to do about Dumbledore?' _Harry's words brought their conversation to a halt, each pondering what Lily had told them. To Ginny's surprise, she felt a rage beginning to build within Harry.

_'What?'_ he growled, _'the man has been hiding things about our life, our future, my parents, and Voldemort. We've asked him twice now if there's ANYTHING else he needed to tell us, and even though I got the impression he lied, I wouldn't have imagined anything as big as all of THIS.' _

Harry was breathing heavily now, attempting to suppress his magic and only succeeding in making his head throb again. Ginny winced as his rant reverberated through her skull, knowing he hadn't meant to yell but had done so anyways. She did her best to calm him.

'_When Madame Pomfrey lets you out tomorrow, we'll pay a visit to Dumbledore during lunch. It seems like your Mum's time is running short with Voldemort back out again and having access to her crystal.' _

Harry hadn't considered that possibility, which renewed his panic and determination to get the information from Dumbledore. Another possibility crossed his mind.

'_Gin, what if we get Sirius to help us?'_

She stared at him in shock. _'Harry…' _

'_No, listen- Dumbledore didn't want us to tell Sirius or Remus about this because it might have given them false hope. But now there's actually a chance here! Not only do both of them deserve to know, we may need them to help us do research and find out information about Slytherin's castle.' _

She considered the possibility, knowing that Harry had a very good point. They only needed to inform Sirius before tomorrow, so that he could help them out. She ran this by Harry, and minutes later found herself sprinting through the halls to Percy's office. She stated the password, and when the door appeared she hammered on it.

"Just a moment," her brother said. The door opened, and Ginny pushed her way inside, pulling a stunned Percy with her.

"Ginny, what exactly are-"

"Percy, shut up for a second." Her brother quieted and motioned for her to continue. "I need to use your floo. Harry and I have something really important that we need to talk to Professor Dumbledore about, but we need Sirius here for it as well. Can I use your fire to contact him and bring him here?"

Percy thought for a moment. "I can't see why not- since he was cleared of charges, the Ministry wouldn't find it suspicious that he's here to visit Harry while injured." He motioned to the pot on the mantle filled with the green powder. "It's all yours."

Ginny jumped up and gave her brother a rib-cracking hug rival to Mrs. Weasley, and could feel Harry reassessing his opinion of Percy as well. Hurrying to the fireplace, she tossed a handful of powder into and it and stuck her head into the flames, yelling "Grimmauld Place!"

Having only ever seen her father do this with co-workers, she was unprepared for the feeling of having her head spinning and body remaining stable, which left her disoriented as she stared out at the grimy kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Her mother had done a fantastic job cleaning, but it had fallen into slight disarray after the children left for Hogwarts. Spying a figure sitting at the table, she called for Sirius. The figure jumped, knocking over a bottle of butterbeer and cursing. Sirius Black came into her view and knelt by the fire.

"Hey there, Ginny this is a surprise. How's Harry doing? Did something happen?"

"No, Harry's ok just a cracked skull, Madame Pomfrey worked her magic," Ginny replied. "We need you to come down here as soon as possible though- there are some things Harry and I need to discuss with you in person." Sirius looked confused and then suspicious.

"Alright, give me a moment and I'll come on through."

Ginny removed her head from the fireplace and moved from the floor to an armchair. Percy handed her a cup of tea, which helped with the dizziness.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

"Anytime, sis. Did you get in contact with Sirius?"

"Yes, he's going to come through in a moment."

Right on cue, the flames turned green and out stepped Sirius. He nodded his head to Percy, before turning to Ginny.

"Ok, let's get this over with."

Ginny paused to give Percy another big hug and peck on the cheek that left him red-faced before leading Sirius out the door and up to the Hospital Wing. As they approached, Harry grinned at Sirius and reached up to give his godfather a hug.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, Sirius."

"No problem Harry, but what is it we need to talk about?" He glanced again at Ginny suspiciously, which confused Harry until he put the pieces together.

"Sirius, she's not pregnant." Ginny looked at him in shock and back at Sirius before bursting into laughter. Sirius' face had reddened and grinned sheepishly at Harry.

"Well, can you blame me for being suspicious? A beautiful wife, a room to yourself, and teenage hormones…" he wiggled his eyebrows ridiculously which caused them both to burst out laughing. When everyone calmed down again, Harry began to tell the story. Ginny intervened occasionally whenever he left out a detail, but Harry explained the dreams and their conversation with Dumbledore to Sirius. If he ever thought he had seen his godfather shocked, it was nothing compared to now. Sirius had gone pale, and stared at them. It was a long time before he found his ability to talk.

"Lily and James…they could be alive?" He slumped back in his chair and rubbed his face, but Harry saw his shoulders shaking slightly. Ginny caught it too and moved over to rub Sirius' back. After what seemed like ages, Sirius looked back at Harry with red rimmed eyes.

"Lily told you to get that information from Dumbledore because it could bring them back, right?"

"Yes, but he also has important information about Voldemort and myself that we need. Sirius, we need you on our side to help us with Dumbledore. He's hid far too many things from us this year, and we know you can help us bring back my parents if possible."

"Harry gets out of the Hospital Wing tomorrow just before lunch. We were going to speak to Dumbledore after we eat, if you would join us," Ginny added.

Sirius nodded emphatically. "I'm there, no problem. Can I tell Remus?"

Harry and Ginny shared a look, before coming to a decision mentally.

"Sure, Sirius- we might need Remus to help us with research also. He can come tomorrow too if you want."

Sirius nodded, but before anything else could be said, Madame Pomfrey entered the room.

"Sirius Black! What on earth are you doing here? I told you after Mr. Potter's accident that if you came back here to disturb him I would have Dumbledore himself evict you from the grounds."

"Madame Pomfrey, Harry and I had an emergency situation we needed to discuss with him. He was just leaving," Ginny said. Sirius caught her eye and jumped to his feet, saying quick goodbyes and marching out the door under the watchful eye of Madame Pomfrey.

"Mrs. Potter, if you wish to stay the night again you may. I'm going off to bed- if you need anything, you know where my office is." She left again, and Ginny pulled the curtains around Harry's bed to change into pajamas. After crawling in carefully beside Harry, the two fell asleep with her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Harry was just packing his things to leave the Hospital Wing when Sirius walked through the doors again. Thankfully, Madame Pomfrey had already released Harry and was in her office. Ginny had gone back to Gryffindor tower to change that morning and go to classes, so it was just Harry and Sirius leisurely walking towards the Great Hall.

"I really miss this place," Sirius said, gazing around at the tapestries and suits of armor. "James, Remus, and I used to have such fun just running through the halls at night trying to find more of Hogwarts' secrets. Evading Filch, striking deals with Peeves…I never had a better time in my life."

Harry nodded. "I feel the same whenever I think of Hogwarts. I remember Ron and Hermione and I fighting a mountain troll, riding Buckbeak, playing Quidditch, and the many broom closets that Hogwarts has to offer," he said, laughing slightly.

"A mountain troll? That sounds like a story I want to hear!" Sirius exclaimed, and by the time they reached the Great Hall, Harry had told his godfather all the adventures of his first year at Hogwarts.

"One thing's for sure, you could certainly give James a run for his money," Sirius said, clapping Harry on the back as they entered the Hall. They spotted Ginny at their usual spot down the table, sitting across from Ron and Hermione who were clearly bickering again. She pointed at the two seats on either side of her, which Harry and Sirius happily filled. Ron and Hermione remained oblivious as they continued to argue over what sounded like a transfiguration essay. Harry, Sirius, and Ginny continued to tell stories of their adventures at Hogwarts throughout the meal, until finally the time came to confront Professor Dumbledore.

Sirius walked up to the staff table, greeting Professor McGonagall with a grin and addressing Professor Dumbledore. Harry couldn't hear what was said, but Dumbledore rose from his chair and Sirius gestured for Harry and Ginny to follow them out of the hall. There was silence as they walked to Dumbledore's office, even as he conjured his typical squishy armchairs for everyone to sit in. He sat behind his desk expectantly, and Harry cleared his throat to begin.

"Professor, Ginny and I have recently had another dream about my mother." Professor Dumbledore looked shocked, clearly having not considered this being the topic of conversation with Sirius present.

"Go on, Harry."

He explained how she appeared in person and told them of her whereabouts. His voice shook slightly as he explained her instructions to question him about the prophecy, soul trappings, and horcruxes. Professor Dumbledore sat back in his chair and looked faintly guilty that he had once again been found withholding information.

"Professor, we need you to be honest with us. We need to find Harry's parents and free them, as they're clearly running out of time. And I don't doubt that this information about Voldemort is important as well."

There was a moment where Dumbledore contemplated the situation before him.

"May I ask why Sirius is here, after I have expressly asked that you leave him out of this matter?" he questioned, gazing intensely at Harry.

"Sir, you said to leave Sirius and Remus out of this because it would give them false hope. Now we have an actual reason to believe that she's out there and alive. Remus is amazing at research, he can help us find information about Slytherin's castle and this dark magic that Voldemort was working with. They're also the closest family I have besides the Weasleys, and deserve to know."

Again, Dumbledore was quiet. He then stood and walked to a cabinet beside his desk, opening it and pulling out a shallow basin. Placing it carefully on his desk, he sat again and placed the tip of his wand into the clear liquid within.

"This is a pensieve. It is used to store memories and thoughts, for once you reach my age you find that they get cluttered in your brain more often than not." He sighed.

"The first thing I'm going to show you is a prophecy, made by Professor Trelawney sixteen years ago in the Hogs Head Inn. I am its only witness, other than a Death Eater who was eavesdropping and heard part of the prophecy."

A smoky figure rose from the basin, and shaped into a younger looking Professor Trelawney. She had a far-away look on her face and a slack-jawed expression. Suddenly she spoke, with a harsh voice that compared nothing to her usual mystical demeanor.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…" _

The figure sank back into the basin, and silence resumed.

'_Harry…did that just say what I think it said?_' Ginny said.

"As this prophecy was being made, a Death Eater standing outside the door heard the first part but not the second. The barman caught him and threw him from the inn, and he immediately reported what was heard to Lord Voldemort."

"But certainly there are more boys born in July than just Harry," Sirius argued, "So why choose him?"

"There are indeed many boys born at the end of July," Dumbledore replied, "But how many had parents who had escaped Voldemort three times? Only two- Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom."

"Neville?" Ginny exclaimed. "How did he choose?"

"Neville Longbottom is a pureblood, Ginny. Harry here is a half-blood, just like Voldemort himself." Seeing the shock of the room, Professor Dumbledore couldn't help but smile slightly. "Hypocrisy is the basis of Voldemort's campaign- attempting to purge the magical world of unpure blood, when he in fact has a muggle father."

"But enough of that- your mother also mentioned horcruxes. This is a subject I wished not to breach with you for at least a few years, but it appears the time is upon us. A horcrux is an object inside which a portion of someone's soul has been placed."

Sirius' brow furrowed in concentration. "This sounds familiar…. I believe I have a family book regarding horcruxes. They're supposed to be one of the evilest magical creations."

"Indeed. Harry, your mother is not a horcrux since her soul is pure and whole. A horcrux is created by splitting the soul in the worst way possible- murder. The practitioner then takes that piece and stores it, so that if his mortal body dies that piece of his soul lives on. Voldemort, in his quest for immortality, has made several horcruxes I believe."

"But sir," Harry interrupted, "couldn't these Horcruxes be anything at all? Or do they have to have some sort of magical significance?"

"Horcruxes are not like portkeys- they could theoretically be anything, but why place a piece of your soul in an old boot or a tin can? No, Voldemort chose objects of magical power to house his soul- one of which you have already destroyed."

"The diary," Ginny whispered. "It was a piece of his soul possessing me?"

"Correct."

"How many?" Harry asked.

"Based on my knowledge of Lord Voldemort, I believe seven. The diary is one. He felt special significance to Hogwarts, and so he attempted to turn something from each of the founders into a Horcrux- the cup of Hufflepuff, Slytherin's locket, the diadem of Ravenclaw. I have intelligence involving a certain ring within his mother's home in Little Hangleton that may be another, and finally his snake Nagini."

"Living animals may be horcruxes as well? And that's only six, sir," Ginny pointed out.

"Yes, although entrusting a piece of yourself to something that can think on its own may not be the best route," Professor Dumbledore answered. "That is six horcruxes, plus the piece of soul within his regenerated body right now."

Sirius had gone quiet for some time, and Harry reached over to nudge him. He looked up, startled. "I know where the locket is."

Everyone stared at him, before he felt comprehension in Ginny's mind. Looking through her thoughts, he understood and nearly kicked himself.

"It was right in front of us," he murmured.

"Pardon me, but you've seen this locket?" Professor Dumbledore questioned urgently.

"We all have- Harry and Ginny were helping me clean out a glass case in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place when we chanced upon a locket that wouldn't open. I vaguely remember my mother showing it to me, and explaining to me the history of Salazar Slytherin," Sirius explained disgustedly.

"Do you still have it in your possession?"

He shrugged. "It went in the rubbish pile, I have no clue if it's still around."

"Kreacher!" Ginny exclaimed. "He was stealing things back from that pile the whole time we were cleaning! He must have it!"

"Sirius, you and I will need to examine the situation at the next meeting," Professor Dumbledore said. Sirius nodded.

"As for this soul trapping method that Voldemort has used, I have never heard of such an art and I feel like I will be of little help here. You may need to rely on Remus, who has access to some older and darker texts, to find the answer," Dumbledore stated sadly.

"My Mum said you had some information on it," Harry replied, confused.

"No- the Department of Mysteries wanted information on Horcruxes- they were exploring the nature of the soul, and wanted any input I could give. As for entrapment of innocent souls, I cannot say I'm familiar with it."

Harry nodded, and looked at Ginny. "What do we do now?"

"Well, I for one am going to go home and explain all of this to Remus. He might have an idea of where to begin with all the research," Sirius replied, getting to his feet and stretching. Harry and Ginny also stood and embraced him. He excused himself from the office, leaving Harry and Ginny alone with Dumbledore.

"Sir, why did you lie to us about my parent's soul bond?" Harry asked.

Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "I promised James and Lily years ago that I would reveal their soul bond to no person without their permission. Although I believe the knowledge would be welcomed to you, I was unsure of the nature of the soul bond and wished to examine the family effects more closely."

"So you kept it secret for… research?" Ginny asked, confused.

"No, simply to keep my last promise to Harry's parents."

"Professor, thank you for revealing this information to us. But we must ask one final time- are there any other secrets related to this topic that we need to know?" Harry inquired.

"No, there is nothing else." This time, Professor Dumbledore looked them directly in the eyes and Harry felt that for once, he was in control of something in his life. Taking Ginny's hand, they bid goodbye to Dumbledore and left the office.

Christmas at Grimmauld Place was not something that Harry had anticipated, but the presence of the Weasleys and the Order members at least gave him something to look forward to. After taking a portkey from Dumbledore's office, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny lay in a heap in the drawing room, trunks dumped around them. Mrs. Weasley clearly heard the racket, as she entered the drawing room still wiping her hands on her apron. Ron struggled to disentangle himself from the pile, but ended up falling back on top of Hermione in a rather compromising position. Glowing red, the teenagers picked themselves off the floor and made themselves available for 's infamous hugs.

"Oh, how I missed you dears! You all look well, although Ronald I expect you to write us more often next term!"

Carrying their trunks to their rooms, Harry entered the room he customarily shared with Ron and dumped his things next to his bed, flopping down upon the mattress. Similar squeaks told him Ron had done the same.

"Ready to face the family, mate?" came Ron's voice from his left.

"I'm not afraid of your parents, more like the pranks from Fred and George. Besides, I think my news will die out quickly once Percy arrives. That's when hell will break loose."

Percy had announced to them in the halls that he was going to join his family for Christmas, and attempt to reconcile. Since the Weasleys were at Grimmauld Place and he was no longer working within the Ministry, he and Dumbledore believed it was finally safe to reveal himself.

"That's true. Mom is going to go ballistic," Ron said, shuddering as he imagined the tears and yelling that would go through the house tomorrow.

"Boys! Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed up the stairs, as Harry and Ron wearily climbed off their beds and made their way back to the kitchen. The smell of homecooked food wafted up the stairs and induced mouthwatering hunger in all approaching the kitchen. Besides the entire Weasley family, Sirius, and Remus, Tonks had also joined them for dinner. Harry noticed her sitting relatively close to Remus, and caught Sirius' eye with a smirk.

Once everyone had sat down to dinner and was well fed, the talking began to take a turn for the serious.

'_Harry, I think you should do it now while they're all well fed and happy_,' Ginny suggested. Harry nodded, and caught Mr. Weasley's eye. He cleared his throat, and the table went silent as Harry stood.

"Right, well, first off it's great to see you all again!" Everyone laughed and cheered. "I have a bit of an announcement." He looked down at Ginny and swallowed nervously.

"I know you all were here when the soul bond took place, and know the basics of what Ginny and I have. However, we discovered something else the night we returned to Hogwarts." Taking her hand, Harry drew from her strength and braced himself for the explosions. "Professor Dumbledore had neglected to tell us that with a soul bond comes marriage. Ginny and I are legally married. However, I don't feel that it's right to do this without a proposal and a wedding, and so-"

Harry knelt down next to Ginny's chair and withdrew a small box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a simple diamond ring within it.

"Ginny Weasley, I love you and will love you forever. Will you do me the great honor of being my wife?"

And all hell broke loose.

Miles away, Lord Voldemort sat within the mansion of Little Hangleton. Twirling his wand between his fingers, he contemplated the blood red crystal before him. So much power, so much ability… and yet so stubborn, he mused. Extending his mind once more, he attempted to breach the mind of the soul trapped within the crystal, but to no avail.

"You are indeed strong, James Potter."


	13. Chapter 13 Holidays With the Weasleys

Chapter 13- Holidays With The Weasleys

Well, it could have been worse.

So thought Harry Potter as he laid on the cot in Ron's room, hands over his eyes, attempting to sleep through the pounding headache that had plagued him since his announcement that evening. Looking back, he supposed their reaction was entirely warranted, but wished that Charlie had just been a tad more reserved when his punishment was dealt. Even the twins had been restrained in their antics, simply slipping their latest joke invention- Swelling Sweets- on him. Thankfully it was on a time release and nothing seemed to happen until after dinner when he was getting ready for bed. What exactly swelled... well, Harry was quite embarrassed to have to apply their special healing cream under the watchful eye of Mrs. Weasley.

At first there was merely silence- not a soul moved, until Ginny whispered "yes" and flew into his arms. The kitchen erupted after that- Mr and Mrs. Weasley did their best to control Bill and Charlie, but the eldest sons were far more powerful than they were given credit for and put up quite a struggle. Meanwhile, the twins and Ron were simply watching the unfolding situation with Sirius, Tonks, and Remus in the back. As he and Ginny became aware of the possible danger, they separated and pulled out their wands. Ginny marched up to Bill, barely making it to his shoulder, and jabbed her wand at his nose. "Sit down!" she ordered.

Her brother, though older, was cowed at the sight of his sister emulating their mother so perfectly and dropped into a chair immediately. Charlie followed slowly, glaring daggers at Harry all the while.

"What have you done, Potter?" Bill yelled, still seated but trying to appear threatening. "Have you gone and knocked up our sister?"

A bang echoed in the kitchen, and Bill was sprawled on the floor beside his chair with massive bat bogies flying out of his nose. Harry had never seen this famous hex in use, and mentally noted never to piss off Ginny to that extent- the situation looked quite painful.

"How dare you insinuate that? How dare you attack Harry for being the gentleman that he is?" she yelled at her brothers, including Charlie in her rage. "We are married whether you like it or not! We are married based on the nature of our bond, legally I am Ginny Potter! Harry had no reason to throw me a wedding or even propose- all that pressure was already off of him! But instead he chose to include you IDIOTS in our wedding, and make sure I had what I always dreamed of. BUT, since you CLEARLY don't trust me or respect me enough to think I'm not old enough or that I'm pregnant (not that it's ANY of your business), perhaps you'd like to live with bat bogies out of your nose for the rest of the holidays!"

As Ginny came to the end of her torrent, Harry could only admire how she was practically glowing in her fury. A certain fire was coming off of her, with her hair only exaggerating the effect and leaving him speechless. This was his wife…and he could not be a luckier man. Ginny was calming just enough to hear the tail end of his thoughts, and turned to grin cheekily at him. Removing the hex from Bill, she returned to his arms and turned to face the rest of the family. Bill managed to climb up back to his chair and sit reasonably steady. Charlie looked at their parents in confusion.

"You actually approve of this?" he asked them.

"Of course," Mr. Weasley answered quietly. "Harry has been like family for years now. If they're married and bonded anyways, I think it's wonderful that he actually wants to throw a proper wedding, especially considering he didn't have to."

"Oh, he had to," threatened Mrs. Weasley. "Harry knows better than to deprive us of a good celebration." That earned a chuckle from the rest of the room, reminding everyone of the strange silence from the twins. Turning towards them warily, Harry gave them questioning looks.

"Mate, don't get us wrong-" George began.

"We find you a fine business partner." Fred continued.

"Absolutely smashing."

"But we can't help but wonder-"

"What exactly you've been up to with our baby sister this past week-"

"When neither of you have been in your dorm rooms all night?" They finished.

Silence again took the room. Harry and Ginny could only stare at the most micheiveous Weasleys, wondering how their secret had managed to reach their ears. Ron looked equally incredulous, proving that it wasn't on his end that things had leaked through.

"Alright, spill," Ginny sighed, gesturing for them to reveal their sources.

"Ah, dear sister, you give us so little credit!" Fred cried dramatically.

"Surely only your favorite brothers would notice how your dormmates rarely mention you in their room, nor would remember how your bed has been missing since the beginning of term along with Harry's."

"Nor would we ever possibly forget how you two always manage to go to bed and come down to the Common Room at exactly the same time," George pointed out.

Lost without any change of a good excuse, they decided mentally that honestly was the best policy.

"Ginny and I have been sharing a room for most of the year," Harry admitted, staring at his feet and shifting his weight." During the twin's tirade, nobody had noticed Charlie shuffling closer to Harry's position. When this announcement was made, he froze in shock before bursting forward and landing a solid bow just above Harry's temple. The world spun, knocking Harry back against the cupboard. While regaining his orientation, he could make out the light of spells that he could only assume would be Ginny hexing the life out of her brother.

The drama came to a point as Percy chose exactly that moment to burst through the floo and greet his estranged family.

The room went silent, Sirius and Remus bent over Harry with Tonks and Molly attempting to subdue Ginny. Charlie was curled up on the floor, Bill still stuck in his chair. The twins and Ron stared at the fireplace in shock, before Ron put a hand on both of his brothers as he saw them tense. Percy froze, taking in the scene.

"Er….is this a bad time?" he asked weakly, before being engulfed in a hug from his mother.

"Percival….Weasley….how dare you…..making us worry so much…" Mrs. Weasley sobbed on his shoulder as he awkwardly patted her back. Mr. Weasley hurried forward to greet his son, before shaking his hand and also pulling him into a hug. Percy's face was bright red, but he looked pleased to be back in the arms of his parents. Pulling back slightly, he chanced a glance around the room and paled at the faces of Bill, Charlie, and the twins. With a shared look, the four brothers crossed the space slowly and pulled Percy back. Ginny tensed, and Harry slowly drew his wand while giving Sirius and Remus a cautious look.

"Percy, long time no see," Bill said, nearly growling as he gripped Percy's shoulder.

"Well why would we see him Bill? We're obviously not good enough for him," Charlie replied, glaring daggers at his younger brother.

"Seems you have a choice here, Perce. You can become a product tester for us-" George began, "-or be a punching bag for Charlie and Bill."

At that moment, Ron took a deep breath and marched quickly over to his brothers. Standing between them and Percy, he squared his shoulders and looked each of them in the eye.

"Hear him out," he said. Everyone in the kitchen stared, surprised at seeing Ron standing up for Percy after his track record with the family. Bill in particular looked quite betrayed, but the twins seemed to be thoughtful and considered the situation.

"What gives, Ron? I thought you hated this scumbag," Charlie said, gesturing at Percy.

"Before he was working at Hogwarts, I did. But I've heard his story and I think you need to also," Ron replied. His face implied no argument, and with a sigh of relief from , the siblings took their seats at the table again. Harry and Ginny briefly exchanged proud feelings for Ron, while Sirius, Remus, and Tonks remained standing but with their wands partially concealed behind their robes.

Percy cleared his throat nervously, and spent the better part of the hour explaining his situation to a silent room. Once he was done, nobody knew what to say. Harry and Ginny examined the expressions of her brothers, only to see shock and sorrow upon them. Mrs. Weasley was long past calm and sobbed through most of the explanation but was clearly happy to have her estranged son back with the knowledge that he didn't actually detest the entire family.

The rest of the evening was simply spent as a family- one far happier than what Harry had seen the past year. That is, until had remembered what the twins said about Harry being a business partner. He could feel Ginny's happiness spreading through him, making him smile widely as he sat with his "in-laws", not believing that finally they were his family as well.

Mr. Weasley took off time from Order duties in order to spend time with the family. His presence also helped keep the peace between the eldest siblings and Harry, although they were slowly beginning to accept him as another brother. Christmas morning arrived, and the house was awoken to the thunderous sound of Ron pounding down the stairs. Harry had already been up for an hour staring at the ceiling, smiling slightly as he heard Ron's enthusiasm. His best mate usually woke him up with the sound of ripping paper- being home for Christmas was something he could get used to. He felt Ginny throw her pillow over her head with a groan from her room with Hermione, who had arrived the day before.

'_Morning, love',_ Harry teased.

'_Ugh, how can you possibly be this cheerful at this hour?'_ she replied, still halfway asleep.

'_Well, it's Christmas, and for the first time I get to spend it with a family,'_ he replied calmly, stretching and rolling out of bed. '_I'm excited for you to open your presents also…'_

He felt Ginny shoot out of bed- however much she pretended, she loved opening presents on Christmas just as much as Ron. Just as he could feel her excitement, Harry could also feel the clouded area of her brain where she was hiding what presents she had in store for him. Pulling on some clothes, Harry padded downstairs and ran into his wife on the next landing. They stopped for a moment, and shared a smoldering good morning kiss that left them breathless before footsteps were heard on the stairs above them. Moving down to the drawing room where the tree was set up, they greeted the Weasleys and Sirius, who were watching as Ron bounced around the tree impatiently.

_'Ron's always the one who handed out the presents,'_ Ginny said. '_He loves it, and always makes sure everyone has something to open at every second.'_

Mr. Weasley nodded at Ron, who immediately tore through the massive pile under the tree. The tree was sadly missing the Weasley's characteristic gnome topping, but Sirius had found a magical Christmas angel that glowed different colors and sang Christmas carols softly when anyone approached closely enough. Harry's train of thought was broken when two boxes were shoved into his hands- one from Hermione, and the other from Ron. Hefting Hermione's in his hand, he could feel it was a book- or possibly more than one, judging by the size. Pulling away the paper, he found a copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages" (his own copy had sadly fallen apart) and "Magical Bonds- the Magic of the Heart". She leaned over to speak to him, saying that it was a really rare book, and contained all the research recorded from other magically bonded couples. She also said that she had not read it, since only a bonded couple would be able to open the book. Ginny heard this thought and mentally put aside tomorrow for perusing the book.

Ron's present was a practice snitch for Quidditch, which Harry immediately let loose in the room and caught within a matter of seconds to approving cheers. Charlie's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and challenged Harry to a match the next time he was at Hogwarts or the Burrow. Christmas proceeded, and Harry received presents from all of his friends- a platter of rock cakes from Hagrid and a biting wallet that nearly took his fingers off, a new sweater from and a box of her homemade fudge just for him, the twins gave him a package of their newest inventions (cleverly disguised to look like another box of books to the eyes of their mother), Bill and Charlie had gone in on some seekers gloves, Sirius gave him a pocket knife designed to open any locked doors, and Remus and Tonks had also gone in together to get him some Quidditch clothing and some extra pictures of his parents that they had found.

Ginny's present came last, as he found himself anticipating it. She handed him a small wrapped box with a golden bow on top, as he handed her a longer rectangular box. Ginny opened hers first, and gasped- inside were a set of rings on chains, one for him and one for her. Both were golden bands with intricate knots cut into them. When Ginny touched Harry's, it glowed for a moment and an inscription appeared- "_Love will forever bind us"_. She looked up at him, teary eyes apparent.

"I know you won't wear it just yet, but since we're technically already married, I thought you'd like to have these." Harry paused. "I had Sirius take them from my parent's vault for me- I thought it was fitting." He smiled as her eyes went wide, realizing she held the rings of James and Lily Potter.

"I thought since you can't wear it on your finger, you might like to wear it on a chain until that day?" He smiled and took the larger chain out of her palm, looped it around his father's ring, and slid the chain over his head, where the ring rested comfortably on his chest. Ginny did the same, touching her ring lightly before kissing him on the cheek, reminding him mentally that her family was still watching. Glancing around, he saw the tears going down Mrs. Weasley's face once again, and the generally approving look of her brothers- all the Weasleys knew that Harry would never give such a personal gift to someone he didn't truly love.

"Go on, open yours now!" she urged, nudging the package that had laid momentarily forgotten in his lap. Opening his present, Harry found a small golden snitch on a heavier chain. It was about half the size of a regular snitch, and his fingers quickly found a small catch on the side. The snitch popped open to reveal two pictures- his parents on one side, and a picture of himself and Ginny on the other. He felt Ginny's hand wind into his, and grasped it tightly. The picture of his parents was taken from the first page in his album that Hagrid gave him first year, showing his father spinning his mother around and laughing. The picture with Ginny was taken in the common room by Collin, showing them both curled up in an armchair laughing and exchanging brief kisses. Harry looked up at Ginny, who could feel the emotions pouring through him.

"It's wonderful," he said quietly, before giving her a brief kiss. Feeling the eyes of the Weasley clan upon him, he held the locket up for them to admire. They passed it around and admired it, before handing it back to Harry. He slid the chain over his head where it came to rest next to his ring just over his heart.

_'Come to my room later? I really want to spend some time with you,'_ Ginny whispered mentally during the family's distractions.

_'Sure…er, what about Hermione?' _Harry asked, not looking forward to kicking his bushy haired best friend out of her room.

'_She's switching places with you- made a deal with Ron,_' Ginny replied, flashing a grin his way.

Harry grinned back and lost himself once again in the Weasley celebrations. The day was spent exchanging stories and playing countless games of Chess and Exploding Snap with various members of the family. Ron was pleasantly surprised to find Remus was at least a good of a chess player as he was, and the two were involved in a game for over an hour that resulted in a stalemate. Afterwards was a magnificent feast supplied by Mrs. Weasley that far surpassed any Hogwarts feast Harry had ever encountered. After a stray thought he encountered from Ginny, he looked around and observed that even Percy was being treated as part of the family again- any animosity from his siblings seemed to have completely dissolved. Not even the twins attempted any pranks on him, since he had unfortunately been the target of several new joke items that they developed.

It was late into the night when everybody went to sleep, and Harry waited for the signal from Ginny to swap places. When all hints of Mrs. Weasley had disappeared, Harry creeped towards the door and slid out into the stairway, nearly colliding with Hermione.

"Ouch! Harry watch out!" she squeaked, before clapping her hands over her mouth. He chuckled and moved aside for her to be let into their room.

"Remember, 3 hours ok?" he said, before pulling the door shut behind him and creeping down towards Ginny's room. One creaky stair nearly gave him away, but remembering just in time he managed to quietly skip it and step through her door. Ginny was waiting just on the other side and closed it carefully, before jumping into his arms.

'_Hermione suggested that talking mentally might be a better idea, since we can't do silencing charms,'_ Ginny said, while she led Harry over to the bed. Harry laid down before pulling her into his arms, her head on his chest, relaxing as they would at Hogwarts. Although they merely slept at Hogwarts, there was something about this period of close contact during the night that each missed greatly while they were separated at Grimmauld Place.

_'I missed you,'_ Harry said, closing his eyes and simply listening with his mind. Ginny turned in his arms slightly.

'_I missed you too. Harry, I can't believe what you gave me today….those rings are beautiful.'_

_'They go to a beautiful girl, the only one who holds my heart,' _he replied. Through their link he could feel Ginny fingering the gold ring, and her rush of affection for him stunned him. Opening his eyes, he barely glimpsed a flash of red hair before her lips were on his. It never ceased to amaze him how after three months of sleeping in the same bed and kissing her every day, every touch still sent fireworks through his mind. After a few moments, what had started as slow passionate kiss quickly escalated. Hands were roaming and moments later most of their clothing was on the floor.

_'You are so beautiful,' _Harry whispered mentally, admiring the figure of his beautiful wife. She blushed as he chuckled, before no more words were used for several hours.

"Ginny! Harry! Wake up! We've gone and slept too late, Mrs. Weasley is going to be up any second!"

After what had been a wonderful night with his wife, Harry certainly would have preferred not to wake up with the threat of Mrs. Weasley over his head- especially in their current state of undress. His eyes flew open, and Ginny groaned as he scrambled out of bed and pulled his clothes on. Hermione blushed and looked away as he realized that he was only wearing boxers, but there was no time to worry about that- the sounds of breakfast preparation in the kitchen told him that he only had moments before Mrs. Weasley would be waking them up. After pulling on his shirt and quickly kissing Ginny goodbye, he wrenched open the door and hurried up to his room. While looking at his feet, he didn't notice his godfather until they crashed into each other and nearly fell down to the next landing. Sirius grabbed Harry's shoulders for support.

"Oi, watch where you're going Harry! What's got you in such a hurry?"

"Er…I was in the bathroom. I wanted to get back to my room and change before breakfast," Harry quickly fibbed, hoping Sirius would take the bait.

"Uh huh, sure. I'll pretend to believe that," Sirius said while winking casually at Harry. He felt his face heat up, which made Sirius roar with laughter. "Just don't let Molly catch you." With that, his godfather jaunted down the stairs whistling, and Harry shook his head as he climbed the final steps back to their room. Ron was already getting dressed, and turned around as Harry walked in.

"Mate, you sure cut it close," he said. As Harry opened his mouth to reply, a knock sounded on the door and Mrs. Weasley walked in.

"Oh, good, you two are already up. Breakfast will be ready shortly!" she said, before moving up the stairs to get Bill and Charlie. Ron closed the door behind his mother before taking a deep breath.

"Maybe we should set alarms next time?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah," Ron replied, shaking his head. "Mum would've killed all of us. We never would've gotten away with this at the Burrow- I swear she's charmed the doors, or charmed the house so that she can hear everything."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Harry replied, moving towards his trunk and pulling out clothes. After getting dressed, Harry and Ron headed down to the kitchen. Ginny and Hermione were already there, along with Bill, Charlie, Percy, Sirius, Remus, and surprisingly Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor Dumbledore, this is a surprise," Harry said.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter. I hope your holidays have been well?"

"Yes sir, the best," he said with a smile towards Ginny.

"I am very glad to hear that. I was wondering if we might venture to my office after you finish your breakfast?" the Professor asked.

"Of course, sir, that would be wonderful. Can Ginny and Sirius come with us?" Harry asked.

"It would be for the best, so yes they may come with us."

"Albus, you're welcome to stay and eat with us," Mrs. Weasley offered, a new table setting already floating out of the cabinet and setting itself in front of the Headmaster. He chuckled at the lack of choice in the matter, and accepted her invitation.

Idle chatter took over the rest of breakfast, and half an hour later, Harry, Ginny, and Sirius took a portkey to Professor Dumbledore's office. Sirius and Ginny landed on their feet, and Ginny giggled when Harry painfully fell onto his backside. Scowling at Sirius' expression, Harry got up and they made their way to Dumbledore's desk, where the Headmaster had conjured three squashy chairs and seated himself.

"Lemon drop?" The visitors shook their heads. Professor Dumbledore took one for himself and sat back in his chair, observing the three people before him.

"Harry, after you told me what you had discovered about your mother, I decided to dive into some research over the holidays. As it so happens, I do have some information about Slytherin's castle, although much will need to be done before we even begin to make an attempt to retrieve your mother."

Harry sat bolt upright- it hadn't taken them months or years, Professor Dumbledore had the answer! Ginny felt his excitement and understood, but transferred calmer energy to him to make sure he kept thinking straight. He thanked her in his mind as Sirius began to speak.

"Professor, how did you find this information? Remus and I also looked over the holidays but we found no mention of such a castle."

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle only as they did when he held a fantastic secret- which in fact, he did. Opening a drawer within his desk, he pulled out a thick textbook bound in pristine leather. The Hogwarts seal was on the front, and in golden script were four names: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin. The headmaster carefully opened the book to a pre-determined place and they leaned forward- only to find a blank page.

"Er…Professor?"

"Ah, do not worry Harry, these pages have been charmed so that only the Headmaster of Hogwarts may read them. I assure you the information is all here. This book was created by the founders before their separation- it tells of the creation of the school, many secrets of the castle, the histories of the founders, and other vital information the headmaster may see fit to know for generations to come."

"Oh, if Hermione could get her hands on that book…" Ginny muttered under her breath, and Harry let out a loud snort of amusement.

"Albus, is the location of Slytherin's mansion given in here?" Sirius asked. His eyes held an almost manic look to them, and it didn't take a close friend to see the pain in them. Lily had been nearly as close to him as James.

"Not precisely, but the clues given allow one observant enough to find it," Dumbledore answered cryptically. At the shared look of exasperation between the three, he chuckled slightly before continuing.

"The Sorting Hat each year sings a song, which also contains a brief introduction to each of the houses and the personalities that each founder prized most highly. Mr. Potter, do you recall the song from last year?"

"Erm, partially," Harry answered. Ginny quickly replayed what she remembered in his mind, and together they pieced it together. Both jumped when Sirius loudly cleared his throat.

"Sorry," he said, grinning, "but you two were just staring off into the distance for a few minutes."

"We were just remembering what the full song was," Ginny explained. "The part Professor Dumbledore is referring to goes like this:'

'_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, _

_ Fair Ravenclaw, from glen, _

_ Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad, _

_ Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.'" _

"Indeed, Ginny. Within the biography of the founders, it states that each of them were extremely close to the school. Each had their own individual quarters located in secret locations in the castle. During the summer months, their family homes were in the areas surrounding Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore explained. Waving his hand, a slip of parchment and a quill appeared on the desk before him. As Sirius, Ginny, and Harry watched, he drew a small diagram of Hogwarts and the surrounding land.

"If we look at a diagram of Hogwarts, it becomes apparent that these particular environments can be found quite close to the castle." Dumbledore placed a small "x" to the south-west of Hogwarts. "This looks to be the most probable location. A few days ago I traveled to this location and scoured the countryside for powerful magical activity. In this area I found a large concentration of magical wards and protections, more extensive than anything even Hogwarts has. I was also able to confirm Tom Riddle's magical signature was within some of the newer wards."

Harry sat back in his chair, thoughts whirling. While he knew Dumbledore was going to work on locating the castle over the holidays, he thought it would be months before information was available.

"So what next?" Ginny asked, gripping Harry's hand.

"Well, obviously we need a plan," Sirius answered. "We can't just march through wards placed by Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin and expect to survive."

"Perhaps we can enlist the services of your brother Bill," Professor Dumbledore said to Ginny. "As I recall, he was one of Gringotts' top Curse Breakers. We're going to need all the help we can get in order to pass."

_'Harry…do you think your connection with Voldemort may help in any way?' _Ginny asked. Harry posed the question to Dumbledore.

"Ah, while you do share some of Voldemort's abilities, without the true Slytherin ancestry in your name I doubt you'd be able to see the castle any more than myself or Ginny," Dumbledore answered, shaking his head.

"Now as to a plan….."

_**A/N**_

_**Apologies for the long wait everyone- I refuse to publish a chapter that I'm not happy with, and this one just kept coming out wrong. It's a bit short, but the next chapter is a vital part of the story and so it was easier to just cut it off here. Enjoy **_


	14. Chapter 14 Slytherin's Castle

CHAPTER 14- Slytherin's Mansion

_A loud crack echoed across the frozen land, as Harry materialized into a frozen plain. He shivered and pulled his cloak closer, glancing around at his surroundings. His eyes saw nothing but the glare of the snow under the sun, and a faint line of trees off in the distance. Slowly turning on the spot, he searched for any forms of life and saw none- no animals were to be heard, not even a gust of wind to break the deafening silence. A pit grew in his stomach as he realized with dread that he was alone- completely alone. Ginny was not to be found anywhere, not even in his mind. Panicking, he ran his hands through his hair and stumbled backwards, only to crash into something very hard and round and fall into the snow. _

_ Scrambling to his feet, Harry found a large black cauldron standing before him, one that was certainly not present a moment ago. A twig snapped behind him, and he whipped around only to be face to face with a silver wand that gleamed eerily. But it was the wizard who possessed the wand that concerned Harry. Grey orbs glared steadily into his eyes, and Harry shivered as he felt them staring right through him. The wizard towered nearly a foot over him, and was clad in silver-trimmed emerald robes. His dark hair seemed blacker than ink, and fell to his shoulders in neat waves that reminded Harry of his godfather. A sword with an emerald in the pommel was visible on his hip, and Harry knew that this man would be a formidable opponent with or without magic._

_ Suddenly, the turned and gazed behind him for a moment, before nodding at Harry and sprinting into the far-off mist. Before Harry could puzzle it out, he heard someone else approaching. _

_ " . We meet again." _

_ Fear crept into his limbs as that cold voice met his ears, the voice that had tormented him for years now. Lord Voldemort stepped from behind a tree, and stood where the mysterious man was not ten seconds earlier. _

_ "What do you want, Tom?" Harry asked, attempted to inject as much defiance into his voice as possible. But even Voldemort could detect the faint tremor that he desperately tried to mask. _

_ "Scared, Harry? The Boy Who Lived cannot face the one he supposedly vanquished?" A cold laugh erupted from the Dark Lord's mouth as he stepped forward, reaching into his robes. Harry's hand plunged into his pocket, only to find that he was wandless. Harry's breath caught in his chest as Voldemort pulled out two crystals- one crimson red, and the other a familiar smoky white. _

_ "You are alone, Potter. There is nobody left to help you." And Voldemort pulled out another two crystals. These were different- instead of being rough and jagged like his parents' crystals, these were spheres and the size of marbles. One was gold, and the other was sky blue- a color that reminded him of…_

_ "Ron!" Harry exclaimed, as the identities within those crystals became clear to him. He stared at them as Voldemort placed them in the snow before his feet, and watched as the pile grew. More and more crystals joined the ground, reaching nearly a hundred before the last was pulled out of Voldemort's robes. This one was unlike the others- instead of being one color, there were two swirling within the crystal- an emerald green and fiery red. Instead of putting it with the others, Voldemort held it between his fingers. _

_ "Now, isn't this interesting. Who would have believed that the powerful Harry Potter's downfall would be a silly little girl?" His features rearranged themselves into a feral grin, as he stepped to the side and placed the crystal onto the ground, in a place that had been cleared of snow. _

_ "Let them go, Tom," Harry growled between clenched teeth. _

_ "I think not, Potter," he replied, and before Harry could move, brought his foot down on the crystal. Harry screamed in pain and rage as the crystal shattered, and he charged towards his enemy. Voldemort turned as Harry screamed, and all Harry saw was a flash of green light. _

"Harry? HARRY!"

"He's flailing around too much- Ginny, we'll try to hold him down- get into his mind!"

In the back of his mind, Harry was aware of these voices and his surroundings- he could feel the pillow that had been shoved under his head, and the cool floor against his back. But none of that mattered to him- it was shoved aside as he mentally searched for his lifeline, the connection that bound him together.

Suddenly, it was as if a burst of sunlight erupted into his mind, and he could feel her. She sent soothing thoughts and emotions towards him, and immediately Harry began to calm down.

_'Ginny- it's so good to know you're there,'_ he sighed, and mentally began to send his love to her.

'_You know I'm always here, Harry, what makes you think I wouldn't be?'_ Ginny replied. Harry could feel her confusion, but she accepted his feelings and concentrated on calming him down.

After a few moments, Harry had returned to his senses enough to feel Ron's hands pinning him to the floor, and Hermione wiping sweat off his forehead with a cool cloth. Ginny's hands were on either side of his head, and he opened his eyes to see her beautiful chocolate eyes and red hair obscuring most of his vision.

"Ron, let him up," she said, and as soon as Ron's arms lifted Harry reached up to pull her down into his arms. Flashes of the multi-colored crystal shattering flew through his mind, making him hug her to him even closer. After a moment, Ron cleared his throat. Harry sat up, grimacing as he felt the bruises from where he had fallen off the bed and landed on the floor. Ginny stood and pulled him to his feet, before he pulled her back to him and turned to face his friends.

"Mate, did something happen? Is Voldemort doing something we should know about?" Ron asked. Harry could tell that Ron was worried for him, and Hermione's emotions were written plainly on her face. They were scared.

"Ron, I just had a nightmare," Harry began, holding his hands up to forestall any questioning. "It's a really long story, but I'm okay. It was just a nightmare."

"….Okay, mate. We can tell you want to just talk to Ginny, so we'll be downstairs," Ron quickly replied, just as Hermione had opened her mouth to say something. He dragged her out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, Ginny turned towards Harry.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

Instead of answering, Harry simply brought her lips to his. It was not a kiss meant with lust or a craving need- just one full of love. He projected it through his mind to her, and when the broke apart both took a moment to get their breath. Harry laid back down on his bed and patted the spot next to him, where Ginny curled up next to him and laid her head on his chest. With a deep sigh, Harry explained his dream to her.

FOUR DAYS LATER

Harry, Ginny, Bill, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks stood gathered in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, shifting nervously and not talking. Following Harry's nightmare of Voldemort's crystals, he had gone to Professor Dumbledore with a single action in mind- retrieving his mother. The next four days had been spent with long hours in the headmaster's office, ironing out a plan and planning for contingencies. Sirius and Ginny were present for all of these meetings, and the rest were brought in as the plans were finalized.

Harry shifted in slight guilt- through all of this, Ron and Hermione knew nothing of their plans. They had assumed Harry was still coping with his nightmares and that Ginny was helping him work it out. Professor Dumbledore had decided it would be for the best if Ron and Hermione didn't come along. On a mission like this, they would only get in trouble with the ministry for performing underage magic. Still, going on an adventure without them after all this time felt wrong to Harry.

Ginny picked up on his feelings and walked back over to him, grasping his hand and forcing him to look into her eyes.

_'Harry, they'll understand. They won't like that we left them behind, but they'll understand why it has to be this way.' _

'_I know, but we've got each other out of so many scrapes in the past… I feel like I'm going into battle without armour.' _

Ginny sighed- Harry was a noble git who brooded too much sometimes, but she had to admit- in this situation, he had a point.

Before she could pursue the point, the fire sparked and flared bright green before Professor Dumbledore's tall form entered the room. He gazed at the group over his half-moon spectacles and nodded, before casting silencing charms around the room.

"Everything is prepared. I have created an untraceable portkey to take us to the edge of the wards. Is there anything else we need before we leave?"

When nobody answered, the Professor pulled out a used inkwell. Everyone reached forward to touch it, and with a murmured word, they vanished in a flash.

A loud crack echoed across the frozen marshland followed by a muffled thump as the group appeared. Tonks and Remus immediately separated from the group and began casting protective spells around the area they would be working in, ensuring that they would be invisible against any observers.

Harry opened his eyes as he felt his feet hit the ground and felt a shock to his core- it was as if he had stepped back into his dream. The overcast sky and desolate snowy surroundings had him searching for the mysterious man before he felt Ginny tug on his hand. Facing her, she quickly emptied calming emotions into his mind. His heart rate slowed, and the reminder of her presence in his head allowed him to separate the reality and the dreams.

Turning around, Harry gasped at the sight before him. While not nearly the size of Hogwarts, the castle was still quite large in its own right and the small turrents reminded Harry of the school. The stone walls added a formidable feeling to the structure, and Harry got the idea that no matter what struck the walls of the castle, they would not give. Five floors at least towered above them, and iron torches lined the pathway to the main entrance. It was there Harry's attention was held- the doors itself were quite plain, a heavy dark wood that would take two people to pull open. The silver knocker took the shape of an elegantly crafted serpent ready to strike, its emerald eyes glinting in the sunlight. Around the doorway were intricate carvings of serpents and runes, far too complicated for Harry to make sense of.

"Hard to believe that there's a castle out there, huh?"

Harry jumped; He hadn't noticed Bill walk up behind him, and stared at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? Of course the castle is here. It's right there!"

It was Bill's turn to look confused. "Well, yes, I know it's there, but until the wards are lifted, we can't see it!"

He turned and tramped back through the snow to Professor Dumbledore, and began to ready himself for taking down the wards. Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were spread out around perimeter of their protective spells, keeping watch for any unwanted visitors.

'_Ginny, can you see the castle?' _he asked.

'_No, not through my own eyes. But I was looking into your mind earlier when you were gazing into space, and saw a faint impression of a castle.'_

'_So how come I can see it, but nobody else can?'_

'_No idea, Harry. I guess we'll see what happens when Bill tries to take down the wards.'_

Harry nodded his agreement before they turned back to Bill. The eldest Weasley brother now had his wand out, pointed in the general direction of the castle, and was muttering a steady string of incomprehensible words. After a minute, he made a wide sweeping gesture and a beam of white light shot from the tip of his wand. The beam made contact with some form of invisible wall, and spread into a spiderweb pattern. Soon, a dome the size of Hogwarts glowed against the grey sky with numerous runic symbols interwoven in the strands. As Professor Dumbledore stepped forward to examine them, there was a muffled exclamation and a thud behind them and the dome disappeared.

"Bill!" Ginny yelled, rushing over to her brother who lay on his side in the snow where he fell unconscious. Professor Dumbledore strode next to him and waved his wand, casting several spells before murmuring "Ennervate".

Bill's eyes fluttered and opened slowly, still unfocused and clearly dazed.

" , do you know what happened?" Professor Dumbledore questioned softly. Remus and Tonks shuffled backwards so as to keep within earshot while keeping guard, while Sirius stepped forward to help.

"N-n-no sir, I just remember something overwhelming my defenses and draining my energy- it knocked me right off my feet. I remember closing my eyes as I stood, then I woke up here." Bill shivered and, with Harry's support, struggled to his feet. "I don't think we're going to be able to overwhelm the wards. Some of those runes… I don't even think it's possible to examine them closely enough without dying."

Professor Dumbledore sighed and walked off a ways, examining the land around him. While he was deep in thought, Ginny pulled her brother into a hug and Harry gazed back at the castle. As his eyes roamed across the details of the silver knocker, the emerald eyes of the serpent captured his attention once more and he found himself unable to look away. Staring into their depths, he felt a looming presence enter his mind.

_'Who dares stare into the eyes of the Serpent Guardian that is not of Salazar's flesh and blood?'_

A thundering voice questioned so loudly Harry winced. It felt as if the voice had reverberated into every fiber of his being, and he felt uncomfortably exposed and vulnerable. Ginny was staring at him, aware of the presence but unable to hear the conversation taking place. There was no noise to be heard around him- it was as if he was deaf to the world.

'_My name is Harry Potter. I may not be of Slytherin's flesh or blood, but I have been touched by his last living descendent- Tom Riddle. I share a connection with him.'_

There was a momentary pause, before the presence replied.

'_So I can see. What makes you believe you are worthy to enter the house of his elders?' _

Harry took a deep breath- this presence could clearly detect if he were to lie, and he had no doubt there would be terrible consequences.

'_Tom Riddle has destroyed the wizarding world. Chaos reigned a decade ago, and he's rebuilding as we speak. I know the House of Slytherin had honor years ago, and it pains me that this last living descendent is wrecking its history. I request entrance so that I may stop Tom Riddle, and restore balance to the world.' _

While waiting for a reply, Harry became aware of a warm hand grasping his and Ginny's presence on the edge of his mind. The tickle of her consciousness was enough to pull courage from, and a sense of strength was renewed in him.

'_You are a son of Gryffindor, our noble Salazar's most trusted friend. While differing on their outlook on society, they were most closely bonded and agreed that order must be kept. Approach the knocker, prick your finger upon the fang of the snake, and we shall grant you entrance.' _

The presence withdrew from his mind, and with a rush all sound returned to his ears and his eyes focused again. Ginny was hugging herself close to his side, while Professor Dumbledore and Sirius stared at his face and began firing off questions.

"Oi! Let the man breathe!" Bill shouted from behind them. Sirius glared at him expectantly, and Harry hastened to explain the mysterious presence.

"The entire time we've been here, you've been able to see the castle?" Professor Dumbledore asked. At Harry's nod of confirmation, his eyebrows raised. "Gryffindor and Slytherin may have been closer friends than we originally believed. It seems you are the only one able to gain entrance. I have no doubt that approaching would mean death for the rest of us."

"Dumbledore, you can't seriously expect Harry to just waltz into Slytherin's castle on his own! He's bloody fifteen years old! He needs backup!" Sirius raged.

"Sirius, I won't be alone! Ginny will be here, she'll be in my mind." Harry turned to his wife. "You can pass information to the rest of them about what I'm seeing, and hopefully that should keep me out of trouble."

Ginny pressed her lips to his for a short moment, before stepping backwards and nodding. Turning to face Professor Dumbledore, Harry squared his shoulders.

"I'm going sir. My mother is in that castle, and I'm not leaving until I find her."

Sirius' objections were lost to the wind as the headmaster gazed at Harry and slowly nodded.

"We will wait for you here. Any trouble, and you must leave immediately. Ginny will keep us updated," he stated, before placing a wrinkled hand upon Harry's shoulder. "Good luck."

With that, Harry turned and began to walk up the snowy path towards the door. Through Ginny's eyes, he saw the exact moment that he vanished behind the wards before turning his attention back to the castle. As he walked, the torches lining the rough pathway lit themselves and provided a measure of warmth for him. All too soon, he stood before the doorway of the castle. The knocker was mounted just above his eye-level, and hesitantly he reached a hand up towards the open mouth of the snake. Just as his finger neared the closest fang, the snake lunged in a flash and sunk all four deeply into his hand. In a whirl of pain and confusion, darkness surrounded him and he knew no more.

Ouch.

The only word that filled his consciousness as Harry slowly raised his head from a dark wooden floor. Rubbing his eyes, he struggled to stand upright and paused as the nausea passed. It was then that he became aware of Ginny's frantic presence in his mind.

'_Harry! You're okay! Everything went dark, and you disappeared from my mind for a moment. Then you were back, but not awake and you had us all worried.' _

'_How long have I been out?'_ Harry glanced at a nearby window- it wasn't even midday yet.

'_Maybe an hour or two. Sirius was getting ready to drag you out of there by his teeth.' _

'_I'm fine now, Ginny. Really. I'm….well, I'm not quite sure where I am.' _

Gazing around, Harry took in his surroundings for the first time. The room he had landed in was handsomely decorated, with dark paneling and finely upholstered silver and mahogany furniture. It seemed to be a sitting room of sorts, with multiple chairs and tables scattered about the room, and a big fireplace in the center. Windows lined one of the walls, letting in much of the daylight. Turning, he spotted a small door likely used for house elves next to the fireplace, and a regular sized door on the opposing wall behind him.

'_If you were Salazar Slytherin and needed an entrance to your dungeon, where would you put it?' _

Ginny mentally shrugged. '_I have no idea. Wait a moment…. Sirius said there was a rumor passed down in his family that Slytherin had built a maze of passages branching out from his study. If you could find the study, maybe you could find the right passage.' _

'_Ginny, if there are too many passages, that could take days.' _

'_Well, did you have a better idea, Potter?' _

'_Actually, I-' _

Harry paused as he heard a faint bang from behind the fireplace. It was quickly stifled, and silence reigned once again. Taking out his wand, he slowly crept towards the small door, before wrenching it open and ducking through, finding himself within a brightly polished kitchen.

"No master, no! Please! We promise, we did not mean to make any noise, we was only cleaning the house! We only care for the possessions of the great Salazar Slytherin! Please," came a squeaky voice from a dark corner.

"Lumos," Harry murmured, and his wand illuminated a young male house elf, clad only in a silver towel with the crest of Slytherin upon it. He was shaking and pressed up against the wall, eyes squeezed tight. When no spell came, his orb-like eyes opened and stared at Harry.

"Who are you, sir? You is not being a descendent of Slytherin."

Harry chuckled. "No, I am not. My name is Harry Potter. I was granted entrance into the castle by the serpent on the doorknocker. I need to find something to bring down Tom Riddle."

The house elf shivered, and slowly walked out of the corner. "You seems like a nice man, sir, but our master is not. He comes more frequently now, leaving death behind him. If the presence in the house says you needs to get rid of him, then I will gladly help you, sir." He bowed low to the ground and stared up at Harry, who was suddenly reminded strongly of Dobby. Perhaps it was the blue eyes.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

"Gorlin, sir," he replied, and bowed before bustling over to the stove. "Tea, sir?"

"No, but thanks Gorlin. I have to find this object as soon as I can. It's in a dungeon of sorts here in the castle. Do you think you may know where that is?" Harry asked hopefully.

"There be several dungeons in the castle, Harry sir. One is the general dungeon, used for common criminals in the land many centuries ago. Master Riddle, sir, he goes to a private dungeon used by Master Salazar to store his most precious of items. Perhaps we needs to be going there, sir?"

"Yes! Can you take me there?" Harry asked urgently. Gorlin nodded before walking towards another door at the other end of the room. Harry followed, and they climbed several flights of stairs before reaching another door that Gorlin slowly opened. With a click of his fingers, the fireplace and several candles lit within a finely decorated study. An elegant desk sat before the fire with silver and ivory inlays, looking as though it had simply been made yesterday. Rows and rows of books lined the walls on all subjects, and Harry heard Ginny's chuckle in the back of his mind as she imagined Hermione's expression. Fighting a smile himself, he followed Gorlin to a bookshelf behind the desk.

"That one, sir- the emerald book with the red mark on the top of the spine. Pull it towards you, and stand back sir."

Harry did as Gorlin said, and the bookshelf disappeared with a gust of wind. A dark tunnel appeared before them, and as Harry stepped to the edge of the darkness, he was thrown off balance by a jolt of movement. A staircase began appearing, slowly descending into the darkness and taking both Harry and Gorlin with it. He suppressed the strong urge to laugh as he was reminded of Professor Dumbledore's staircase. They descended an unknown number of floors before the staircase finally grinded to a halt, leaving the pair in complete darkness.

Gorlin snapped his fingers, and a line of torches lit themselves to illuminate a long corridor that nearly made Harry's heart stop. At the very end was a cell with a glimmering crystal and a table topped with a white sheet.

"Mister Potter, sir, I may check to see if there be traps set on this hallway? Master Tom knows many dark things, sir, but I have lived long enough to know of most of them."

Harry nodded his approval, and Gorlin soon cleared the hallway and cell of all enchantments he could detect.

'_Leave it to Tom to be arrogant enough to assume he is the only one who could enter this place,' _Ginny said with disgust. '_That was his mistake in the Chamber.'_

'_Well, Gin, clearly Tom doesn't learn from his mistakes,'_ Harry replied as he fumbled with the cell door. In another display of arrogance, Tom hadn't even used the muggle locking mechanism and had simply left the door open. Standing in the room, Harry felt a heavy weight settle in his chest. Grasping the warm crystal, he gazed at it before carefully dispensing it in his pocket. Moving towards the table, he took a deep breath before wrenching the sheet off of it. Underneath, looking as though she had only been sleeping, lay the body of his mother. She was even clothed in the same things she wore the night Voldemort had visited Godric's Hollow. A hot tear spilled over his cheeks, before Harry grasped her cold hand in his and stared down at her face. He had seen it in his dreams but the actual reality of finally viewing his mother in person began to hit him.

'_Harry, I know how much this moment means to you, but you need to get out of there NOW.' _

Only Ginny's serious tone of voice ripped his gaze away from his mother's face.

'_What is it, Gin?' _

'_Voldemort is here. We moved out of the open since you were going to be inside awhile, and he just apparated. He walked inside the wards before we could do anything.' _

'_How am I supposed to get out of here? He could be here in seconds, and I still have to transport my mother's body.' _

At that moment, Gorlin gave a sharp squeak and a horrified expression filled his face. "The master is here!" he whispered.

"Gorlin, can you transport her body to another location?" The elf quickly nodded, so Harry gave his directions and both vanished just as the dark form of Lord Voldemort appeared at the bottom of the staircase.

The shock was apparent on his snakelike features- clearly he never expected an intruder in his family's house. The shock gave way quickly to a sneer as his tall frame sauntered down the hallway.

"Harry Potter. Well, you do show up in the most interesting of places."

Harry tried to back further into the cell, but his back hit the wall and the hand holding his wand shook. As he came closer, Voldemort pulled out his wand and smiled evilly.

"I see you've discovered my little surprise for you. The body of your filthy mudblood mother, preserved from time. I was planning to reanimate her into an Inferi just to torture you more, but now I think your father will be much more appropriate." He stopped halfway down the hall, wand held loosely in one hand, the other reaching into his robes to withdraw a blood-red crystal. Harry's eyes were held on the crystal- it was as if he could sense his father's presence within it, and knew that Voldemort had spoken the truth. Another wave of the wand, and a cell door banged open to reveal another white sheet- presumably the body of his father. Harry felt rooted to the ground, unable to move.

As Voldemort opened his mouth to speak, a crack echoed throughout the room and Gorlin appeared before him along with a small group of elves. Two rushed into the room holding the other body and disappeared with it, as Voldemort roared in outrage. Taking advantage of his distraction, Harry summoned the other crystal. As it reached his fingertips, another elf grabbed hold of him and with a snap he appeared back outside in the snow. Before he could get his bearings, a small hand grabbed his and he was sucked into the darkness again.


	15. Chapter 15 Wake Up!

CHAPTER 15 – Wake Up

"_Well, this is a change of scenery." _

_The light voice of Lily Potter drifted to Harry's ears, as he hauled himself off of a dark wooden floor. Hearing a similar groan next to him, he turned to help Ginny before looking directly into the eyes of his mother. The normal dream surroundings of the cell in Slytherin's dungeon seemed to have adapted to become a previously empty guest bedroom in Grimmauld Place. _

"_Mum, we made it out alright?"Harry asked, panicking as all he could remember was the all-encompassing blackness after Gorlin took him out of Slytherin's castle. _

"_Yes dear, in fact you and Ginny are resting in your usual bedroom in Grimmauld Place. Both my crystal and your father's were recovered." She smiled softly. Harry felt Ginny's sigh of relief and sent her calming feelings. Lily saw this and crossed the room, enveloping them in a powerful embrace. _

_After a moment had passed, she released them and Harry pulled Ginny to him. _

"_Now that we have you both back, what are we supposed to do to put your souls back into your bodies?" Ginny asked. _

_At this question, Lily gestured to two fluffy armchairs that had appeared behind them and they all took a seat, Harry grinning at his mother. _

"_Professor Dumbledore always had the best taste in seating," she grinned, before launching into her explanation. _

"_Do you two know what exactly happens when your souls merge?" _

_The pair went on to explain what the Headmaster had told them months before, where magical signatures were mixed until they were merged into one. Lily nodded in agreement, seeming satisfied with the information. _

"_It seems Dumbledore was able to give you the gist of it, but he missed one of the most important points. When a soul merge occurs, you don't simply mix your magical signatures, but your energies. Everything you see has an energy, whether magical or not. It's a fact of the universe, something that is simple truth. Only the most powerful magics can influence these energies, one of which is love._

_Horcruxes, as I trust Dumbledore has told you by now, is the splitting of one's soul and more importantly, their energy. It is an evil dark art that again influences this universal energy. Voldemort had many spies in the Department of Mysteries, where I worked and was studying this energy. The research must have been stolen, and he has created a new way to manipulate it using innocent people to fuel his desire for power." _

"_So the crystals, in order to undo them we have to manipulate this energy?" Ginny asked. _

"_Yes, that's exactly it," Lily replied. She looked carefully at Harry, who seemed partially confused by the turn the conversation had taken. She chuckled softly at his current resemblance to his father. _

"_Because your father and I shared a soul merge, we can manipulate this energy. But neither of us can return to normal without the other- that is, we need James to make this work." Lily paused. "I'm not sure how to do that, as he's shut of his mind from everyone and everything. Our bond is tenuous at best." _

_Harry grasped Ginny's hand, as they lapsed into deep thought. Finally, it was Harry who broke the silence. _

"_I think the only way to reach Dad would be in this dream state. If we're capable of manipulating this energy, I think it's something we need to try while we're here. Perhaps we can strengthen the bond enough to make him realize that it's us." _

_Lily nodded seriously, before taking a deep breath. "Let's begin." _

"Sirius Black, sit down before you wear a hole in the floor. You're driving me mad!" exclaimed, and the troubled ex-convict threw himself into a chair. He had been sitting in Harry's room for nearly four days, not leaving to eat or sleep. On the bed lay his godson and his wife, completely unconscious to the world but apparently physically fine according to the Weasley matriarch and Madame Pomfrey. Professor Dumbledore had been stopping by daily to check on their progress, but nothing changed.

Four days previously, the group who had gone to Slytherin's castle reappeared in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place along with the bodies of James and Lily Potter. Harry and Ginny had appeared along with them, but fell unconscious almost immediately. Clenched in Harry's fist had been a blood red crystal, with a white one in his pocket. The bodies had been moved into a guest room on the next floor, with the crystals accompanying them. When Mrs. Weasley discovered where they had been and that they had faced Lord Voldemort again…. well, Sirius had been shocked that Professor Dumbledore still had retained his hearing. Term had begun yesterday at Hogwarts, so Ron and Hermione were forced to leave but were kept informed of any progress. Any attempts to separate Harry and Ginny were defeated immediately by a golden field that threw the offending person across the room… a defense that Sirius had learned the hard way.

Mrs. Weasley bustled about, cleaning the room and handing Sirius a warm mug of soup that she had made for dinner before shutting the door quietly behind her. He placed it on the dresser and stared down at the peaceful face of his godson.

He should never have allowed this to happen. Harry was his responsibility, and he had made a promise to Prongs that his son would be kept safe no matter what. And yet he had willingly allowed the boy to walk into Slytherin's castle and face Voldemort again. Some kind of guardian he was.

Kicking the chair back, he began to pace the perimeter of the room again. It wasn't just Harry who he was responsible for- Ginny had become a close friend of his and like his own goddaughter lately. If anything had happened to either of them…

While Sirius continued his frantic pacing, he was completely oblivious to two pairs of eyes flickering open on the bed, and the triumphant grins spreading across their faces.

'_I cannot believe that worked, Gin. Mum said it should only take them a few hours to focus and move from the crystals to their bodies.' _

_ 'I know! Did you see her face when your father appeared with us? I don't think I've ever been happier either.' _

_ 'I'm going to get my parents back.' _With that thought, Harry's eyes moved to his oblivious godfather, still pacing and muttering.

"Oi, Sirius, would you happen to have any water?"

Ginny would have paid any price to have a camera at that moment, as Sirius jumped nearly a foot in the air in shock, before whipping around and enveloping the two of them in bone-breaking hugs. Releasing them, Harry could just barely see the glint of a tear in his godfather's eye, before his expression twisted into fury.

"Don't you EVER scare me like that again, Harry James Potter!"

Ginny giggled. "We missed you too, Sirius."

Sirius stamped over to the door and stuck his head out in the hallway to yell down the stairs. Moments later, Mrs. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, and Remus had rushed into the room with identical expressions of relief. Bill and Charlie weren't far behind. After the hugs and exclamations of relief were exchanged, they sent everybody but Professor Dumbledore, Remus, and Sirius from the room. When the three were settled, Harry and Ginny launched into their tale.

After talking to Lily, she had instructed them in how to focus their energy and add their power to the bond that Lily and James shared. They found it with a few hours of effort, and at first were powerfully repelled. Lily believed James had shut himself up with so many walls because of Voldemort attempting to invade his mind. It had taken all of their collective power to shatter the walls and re-establish the bond before James had materialized before them. When Harry and Ginny had woken up, his parents were already focusing all their magic on transferring their souls back to their bodies.

Once more, Harry was witness to a moment where Professor Dumbledore himself was struck speechless. Remus and Sirius seemed to be in a deep state of shock, before identical expressions of happiness broke out on their faces.

"Harry and Ginny, if you two would get dressed and allow Molly to feed you, we can go visit your parents," Professor Dumbledore announced, eyes twinkling brightly as he made his way to the bedroom door. Sirius and Remus followed suit, leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the bedroom again.

Harry turned to regard his wife. Even after four days of being in bed and the stress of the mission, she still managed to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. As deep chocolate eyes met emerald, all coherent thought stopped within his brain. Pressing his lips to hers, he felt as though his body were on fire in the most pleasant way possible. The feeling rebounded across their mental link, making the need all the more powerful as their lips moved in synch. His hands roamed up the back of her shirt, removing it completely as she moved to straddle his waist. Everywhere her lips touched sent a shiver down his spine, from his neck to his chest to his stomach. He groaned softly as she shifted on his lap, and-

Steps. Footsteps coming up the stairwell. Only one woman in the house had footsteps like those…..

In a flash, Ginny had rolled of his lap and grabbed her clothes, leaping into the connected bathroom in his room. Harry grabbed his own clothes of the chair previously occupied by Sirius, and quickly pulled them on. Just as he had finished snapping his jeans, Mrs. Weasley knocked and pushed the door open suspiciously in one motion. Seeing Harry dressed and hearing Ginny in the bathroom, she nodded.

"Lunch is ready for you dears, if you'd come downstairs."

"Will do, Mrs. Weasley. I'm just waiting for Ginny to finish in the bathroom," Harry replied, facing away as he attempted to tame his unruly hair. Waiting until the door closed solidly behind him, he sighed in relief and Ginny poked her head out of the bathroom, grinning.

"Nice save, eh?"

Harry and Ginny made their way down to the kitchen at Grimmauld Place and ate everything Mrs. Weasley set before them (quite a task, as Harry believed even Ron would be completely full from that meal). They then met Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore in the hall outside the room where his parents were. While Harry and Ginny had been unconscious, someone had changed them into different clothes and washed away the grime from the dungeon. They lay in the center of the bed, James on the right and Lily on the left, with their crystals on the nightstands next to the bed. Ginny felt an overwhelming wave of sadness and excitement from Harry, and grasped his hand tightly while he fought to overcome the lump in his throat. A glance at Remus and Lupin revealed similar troubles.

Professor Dumbledore surveyed the scene before conjuring four fluffy armchairs around the bed.

"I must go attend to Hogwarts, as term began yesterday and I have not been at the school as much as I should be lately. Harry, Ginny, I expect you at school on Monday- this gives you six days to stay with James and Lily. I suspect that they will awaken far before then, so you will have plenty of time to be with them." The headmaster turned to leave, but paused at the door and looked back towards Harry. "I very much admired your parents, Harry, and you have no idea how happy I am to see them returning to us." With that, his purple robes swished out of sight and the door closed quietly behind him.

Remus and Sirius stared at each other before taking two of the seats near the bed. Ginny faced the two nearest to her and with a wave of a wand combined them into a comfortable sofa. Sitting comfortably next to Harry, they sat and waited.

'_Bloody hell, Lily- I would not have predicted this massive headache as we joined the world of the living again,' _James spoke mentally, robotically raising an arm to rub his forehead wearily before opening his eyes. Lily replied with a mental groan, and handed him his glasses from the table. The green canopy hangings above him came into focus.

'_It worked. We're in that bedroom at Grimmauld Place,' _James thought, as he tried to sit up. His muscles and aching bones protested the movement, and he soon gave up, slumped on the pillows. His wife laughed at him charmingly.

'_James, your body hasn't moved in fourteen years. You expect to be doing chaser practice tomorrow as though time hadn't passed?' _

He made a face at her, and then mechanically turned his head to stare into the eyes of his love. Lily grinned back at him, and he felt her take his hand on top of the covers. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the four people who had clearly been keeping an eye on them… and fallen asleep in the process.

Sirius sat closest to him on the left, slumped down in the chair, head thrown back and mouth open as he snored. From the bags under his eyes, James guessed he hadn't slept well if at all in the past week. His friend looked much the same as he had in his Hogwarts days, although it was clear his past haunted him. Remus sat next to Sirius, his head propped up on his fist but clearly sound asleep. The werewolf transformations had been taking a toll on him all these years, and though Remus was the youngest of the group he already had grey at his temples. There were also a few new faint scars added to his face. The pair on the couch made James stop for a moment. He had seen them briefly while he and Lily were attempting to come back to their bodies, but seeing his son in real life was an experience unlike anything he expected. It was as if he looked at a mirror image of himself- the poor kid had even inherited his mop of hair, and his round glasses had slid down his nose. His cheek rested on the head of a girl who resembled Lily a lot, although he knew that her eyes were brown and her hair was a bit lighter.

'_They remind me of us just after we merged,'_ Lily whispered.

At that moment, Harry stirred. His eyes opened slowly, and he shoved his glasses back up on his nose before glancing towards the bed. When he saw both of his parents staring back at him, his jaw dropped. Ginny felt his shock, and woke quickly. She shifted off of Harry's lap, and stood before pulling him to his feet. Together they walked towards the bed, on Lily's side.

"Hello, Harry dear," she whispered. His eyes moved over to his father, who he so uncannily resembled. James stared at him with a wide smile on his face. "Hello son," he said, and Harry broke. Fourteen years of pain and longing escaped in the form of tears, and for once he made no effort to stop them. He and Ginny helped them sit comfortably, and that's when Sirius woke.

"Prongs!" he exclaimed, before leaping onto the bed and embracing both of his old friends. Lily and James laughed at how unchanged their friend was, and at Remus when he had much the same reaction. Harry and Ginny were pulled on to the bed as well in Sirius' enthusiasm, and sat in between his parents completely content.

Lily cleared her throat after about an hour of talking. "Now, while we love all of you, do you think we can get some water?"

"Sure, I'll get it- would you like some food as well?" Sirius asked.

"Yes please- as much as you can get!" James exclaimed, while Harry and Ginny exchanged grins.

"Dad, I don't think you understand exactly how much food Mrs. Weasley makes on a daily basis," Harry said, laughing as Sirius bounded out the door.

"I better go help him explain to Molly," Remus said, and edged out the door after him.

James sighed happily and leaned against the headboard, Harry and Ginny moving to the foot of the bed now that Sirius had left.

"So, Harry, I think you're going to need to update us on your life. My last memory is Halloween when you were one year old," James stated. Lily nodded in agreement. "You told me some of what was going on, but I'd like to hear the whole story as well."

Harry sighed. Not even Ginny knew the entire contents of his childhood- he had refused to dump that burden on anyone. But lying to his parents seemed impossible, and so he began at the Dursleys. He spoke of his cupboard under the stairs, and the chores he was required to do daily without going into too much detail. He told them how Hagrid had given him his Hogwarts letter and introduced him to the wizarding world. He even went through each year of school, telling everything he remembered right up until their mission to Slytherin's Castle. Ginny and his parents listened with rapt attention, and many times he could feel an overwhelming sadness from his wife.

Finally, silence fell. Unable to look at the people around him, Harry busied himself by studying the pattern of the bedspread.

"Harry… I am so sorry. You never should've been forced to grow up that way, and I'm so sorry we weren't there for you," he heard his mother whisper quietly. He looked up in shock, and saw the tear tracks that had made their way silently down her face. James didn't look too far from that point either.

"This is not your fault!" Harry said, incredulously. "You do realize that without what you did in Godric's Hollow, I'd have died years ago? You did your best to protect me, and that's something I will always remember."

Before they could respond, a knock echoed on the door and it opened, with Mrs. Weasley bustling through. Behind her were four trays floating in the air, two of which flew immediately towards James and Lily. Harry and Ginny each received one also.

"Oh Lily, James, it's so good to see you two again!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, before hurrying to each side of the bed to give them each a hug.

"You too, Molly," Lily smiled. "It seems we owe you a lot for taking such good care of Harry over the years. He could hardly have had a better motherly figure in his life."

"Not at all, dear- he's such a sweet boy, and I think of him as a seventh son anyways," Mrs. Weasley said tearfully, before she left the room again.

Ginny suddenly grinned. "Harry, you better home she stays happy and doesn't remember you gave Fred and George the money for their joke inventions."

Harry visibly paled, as the group laughed loudly and enjoyed their lunch.

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the day speaking to his parents before they retired for the night. Professor Dumbledore visited the next day and spoke to them about the current situation, as well as gathering information from their 'soul trap'. Remus and Sirius spent a lot of time with them as well, helping them move about the house. By the third day, the rest of the Order had welcomed James and Lily back, and they had regained their mobility.

The afternoon before Harry and Ginny had to leave for Hogwarts, Harry cornered his dad in the library.

"Erm, Dad- can I speak to you for a second?"

"Of course, you don't even have to ask!" James exclaimed. "Have a seat." Harry found a musty armchair and cleaned it with his wand before sinking into it. "What's on your mind?"

Harry pulled the chain that he wore around his neck from his robes, and showed the ring there to his father, who grinned when he recognized it.

"Over Christmas, I proposed to Ginny properly since we were bonded before we had even come close to anything like that. I wanted to give her a proper wedding that she deserved," Harry began, and James nodded in understanding.

"Sirius found your wedding bands for me, and I put them on chains for Ginny and I to wear until we actually got married. I hadn't expected you and mum to be back, and I guess I was wondering if you wanted to wear your rings back," Harry rushed, strangely nervous.

"Those bands, Harry, don't just belong to your mother and I." Harry's head snapped up in surprise, and confusion when he saw his father's grin. "The Potter family has a few secrets that you've never been informed about. One of these is that the male line especially has a tendency to form soul merges. Those rings you hold have been passed down for many, many generations and are passed from father to son when the next soul merge occurs." He touched the band around his son's neck, before continuing. "So you see, you simply did what I couldn't do for you. You would've received the rings anyways."

Harry smiled in understanding. "So what other Potter secrets don't I know?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, we're fairly fond of redheads," James said, laughing deeply at his son's blush and then stuttering as a thought occurred to him.

"Wait a moment, Harry, did Sirius ever get a chance to… erm… well see… one of the days you talked to him… give you the talk?" James blushed, the tips of his ears turning red.

Harry grinned to himself. "No, dad, what talk?"

James rubbed his eyes wearily, as he tried to figure out where to begin. "Well, when you're in a position such as the one you're in with Ginny, there's some things you need to know… physically."

At James' pause again, Harry was physically struggling to withhold his laughter, and he could feel Ginny in the recesses of his mind being affected by his mirth.

"I mean… girls are very different from boys… and you have to know how to… er… deal with some things. In bed."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, attempting to keep his voice even.

"Ah, you know…. Uh… " James couldn't seem to find words anymore, and Harry began laughing madly, hardly able to breath. Comprehension dawned in his father's eyes, and he narrowed them at his son, who was on the floor still laughing uproariously.

"You… I cannot even believe you just did that to me. Padfoot put you up to this, didn't he?" James growled, and silently vowed to get revenge on his friend.

"No, Dad…. I just…. It was too good of an opportunity… to pass up," Harry choked out, as they exited the library and made their way down to the kitchen. Harry had regained most control over his emotions, until he entered the kitchen and saw Ginny and Lily attempting to control their laughter at the table. They were surrounded by Bill, Charlie, Remus, and Sirius.

"Oh James, I cannot believe you fell for that," Lily chuckled.

'_You may have blocked your mind, but Lily was still able to talk to James through that entire thing. So we figured it out down here,'_ Ginny said, regaining some composure before smiling innocently up at James.

"So, how are girls different from boys again?"

The kitchen erupted in laughter again.


	16. Chapter 16- Bites and Betrayers

**A/N- Wow, it's been a long time, eh? Apologies for the absence folks. I left this story alone and was unsure if I was even going to finish it. Thankfully I graduated, and my roommate is an avid fanfiction reader. She threatened to lock me in my room and feed me food through a catflap if I didn't update. **

**So here we are- I'm going to attempt to eventually finish this story. If you're still hanging in there and reading, I appreciate it a TON- and I love reading the reviews. So keep em coming, and I'll keep going with the updates! Happy reading, everyone. **

Chapter 16- Of Bites and Brains

_His smooth, muscular body slid across the waxed floor of the corridor- the lights from the torches had dimmed down, and any who may have been passing would be oblivious to his presence. Flicking his tongue, he tasted the scent of a man standing just outside of the door his master desired entrance to. Closer and closer, he moved to barely a foot away and bared his fangs. _

_ Fangs? _

_ Why do I have fangs? _

_ What…. Harry? What's happening? _

_ Lunging forward, swiftly and silently, he sank his fangs into the thigh of the guard who fell in a heap on the floor. Once, twice, three more times he struck with unmatched precision! The growing pool of blood became a gruesome imperfection to the sterile cleanliness of the hallway, mixing with the human's faded red hair- _

_ Red hair?! HARRY! _

Harry's eyes flew open as he thrashed in the bed, the sheets tangled around his sweaty body. He immediately rolled to the side and retched, trying to get the feel of breaking flesh and blood out of his mind. Ginny attempted to calm him, but having experienced the same her thoughts were not much better. Regaining his breath, they stumbled to the sitting room and collapsed on the sofa in front of the dying fire.

"Harry… please tell me that was just one of your horrible nightmares," Ginny whispered. Her face was pale and gaunt, and her eyes missed their usual humor. He slowly shook his head.

"I haven't had nightmares since the summer, before our bond. I think that may have been a vision straight from Voldemort. They tend to come from his perspective," Harry replied, choking back his raging emotions in efforts to think clearly. "We need Dumbledore, that was your Dad."

Ginny sat petrified, so Harry reached up to the mantle and grabbed a handful of floo powder, picking her up and shouting "HEADMASTER'S OFFICE!" before jumping in. Spinning around, they fell out on the rug near his desk. Surprisingly, Professor Dumbledore was still awake and wore a look of curiosity on his face. That is, until he met the eyes of the Potters. Curiosity turned to immediate concern, and within minutes the entire Order was dispatched to find Arthur, get him to St. Mungos, and do damage control. He also summoned Lily, James, and Sirius to attempt to comfort the teenagers, but it was apparent that nobody could help them but each other. Ron, Fred, and George arrived at some point and sat together nearby in their own vigil.

They sat silently for hours, Harry and Ginny in each other's arms and sharing only feelings. The sun rose and daylight broke in the office, and still nobody moved. It wasn't until nearly lunch that Tonks stepped through the floo.

"How is he?" Lily asked. Ginny and Harry hadn't moved, but it was clear they were listening.

"He's in a rough state, it was touch and go for a bit from what I heard," Tonks replied, her trademark pink hair now black. "That damn snake had venom that prevented the wounds from healing magically. But they think he should be okay, the recovery time will be a bit long. All that's left now are the legal battles."

"Legal battles?" James asked.

"He was on guard duty that night in the Department of Myste-"

"Nymphadora, perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere," Professor Dumbledore interrupted, gesturing towards the fire. Informing the teens that they would be back within the hour with more news, the adults departed and left only the Weasleys and Harry in the room.

Ginny sighed and relaxed against Harry's chest, closing her eyes as Sirius and James expressed their thanks for the news.

'_What on Earth was Voldemort doing in the Ministry of Magic?'_

'_Ginny, if you're going to take over the magical world, where would you go to make that happen?' _

_ 'I know, but think about it. He was in the Department of Mysteries- he must have been looking for some seriously confidential magic. Why would the Order be guarding it instead of the Ministry?' _

_ 'I've no clue. More mysteries for us to solve without their help, I suppose,' _Harry ground out bitterly. _'But whatever they're guarding is clearly not safe in the Ministry.' _

There was no more talking for a long while, only the exchange of feeling. Harry reflected on the past month since their invasion of Slytherin's Castle. Voldemort had been on the warpath, wrecking muggle and magical villages alike. His anger at losing two of his biggest advantages only made him even more dangerous, and the brunt of his attacks was felt throughout Hogwarts. Lily and James had been staying undercover in Grimmauld Place, and Harry was allowed to visit once a week with Ginny. Together they built up a trust and connection equal to that Harry had with the Weasley clan. Lily could rival Hermione in book knowledge, and James by far overtook Sirius in prank planning. There was never a dull moment in their visits, and altogether it was difficult for Harry to stop grinning at the thought of having parents to yell at him.

Ginny was following his thoughts, and her lips twitched at the memory of her husband's antics when paired with James and Sirius. It was rare that he ever looked so carefree and young. On days like today, she looked into his emerald eyes only to see her own sadness reflected back at her.

"I wish they would just tell us SOMETHING!" Ron burst out, making everyone jump. From where he sat in the corner next to Fred, it was clear that his anger had been building while they waited. "I mean, Harry's the one who saved Dad! He nearly died, and they won't even bother telling us what he nearly died FOR!"

"Ron, calm down mate. You know whatever this is about is likely top secret, and the Order won't budge," Fred stated quietly. It was unusual to see the twins in such a somber mood, sitting quietly and thinking.

George nodded in agreement. "Although it's interesting that they're guarding top secret information in the Ministry. I wonder what's so dangerous in there that they have to keep it safe."

"Harry and I thought the same thing," replied Ginny. "Even if the Ministry doesn't believe that Voldemort is back, there has to be some type of security."

"Not likely," Ron snorted. "I heard Dad talking to Dumbledore a few days ago. We could probably walk into the Ministry and find the thing before any alarms went up."

Harry witnessed a sneaky look between the twins. Ginny, having seen it in Harry's mind, stormed in front of them and put her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare," she growled.

"What is it, Ginnykins?" Fred squeaked.

"Ickle-GinGin, we would never-"

"-ever-"

"-dare to sneak into such a prestigious institution-"

"-without the consent of our controlling and secretive-"

"-yet trustworthy-"

"-Order of the Phoenix!" they finished.

Ginny stood over them, her light frame still channeling the same force her mother used to control the Weasley clan multiple times. The force that caused her brothers to quake in fear. "This is dangerous. You have no business interfering with whatever the Order's guarding. You don't even know what it is! If Voldemort wants it, what makes you think that retrieving it is a good idea?"

"Not to mention that we may completely mess up whatever plan the Order has to keep this unknown thing relatively safe," Harry added from his chair.

Ginny turned to smile at him, but her gaze caught a glimmer of liquid from inside a slightly ajar cabinet behind Professor Dumbledore's desk. Harry turned to follow her gaze, spotting the same odd light.

"Oi, mate, what are you staring at?" Ron asked.

"I think it's a penseive," Ginny said wonderingly. "They're really rare… I'm not totally shocked that Dumbledore has one, but I've never seen them in person before."

"Er… what exactly is a pensieve?" Harry asked. As Ginny sent him an image, Ron began to explain.

"A pensieve is a sort of bowl with liquid in it that you can store memories in. Then you can go visit them and re-live them as often as you want," Ron replied, staring at the cabinet. He stood and passed Ginny, walking towards the cabinet and nudging it open. The room filled with a sparkling blue light, as a shallow basin with unknown runes was revealed. Ron moved to pick it up, when Ginny was suddenly beside him.

"Ron, this is Dumbledore's! He could be back any minute!"

"I just want to look at it! Besides, maybe we can see what the Order is trying to hide from Voldemort."

"Ronniekins, we respect your thievery-"

"And admire how blatantly nosy you have become-"

"But even we wouldn't nick Professor Dumbledore's pensieve."

Ginny saw the thought before Harry verbalized it, and immediately rounded on him. "You're not seriously considering diving into Dumbledore's memories?"

"How are we supposed to learn what we're fighting for if he won't tell us? The entire war could be staked on this one item. I just want to know what's happening at the Ministry that's so important to Voldemort- I can't exactly just delve into his mind anymore," Harry snapped.

"Well sorry that I disrupted you connection to Moldyshorts- I didn't anticipate you would miss it that much!" Ginny retorted.

"Gin, it's not that- "

"No, I know what you meant. You don't like being uninformed. But just think what could happen if Dumbledore figures out that we went in here."

"I have considered it," he quietly replied, walking over to stand next to Ron, "and I'm tired of fighting in a war I know nothing about." With those words, he bent and scooped the basin into both hands, carrying it to the desk. It was lighter than he expected, and the liquid didn't slosh despite his uneven footsteps. When settled on the Professor's desk, he looked at Ron for direction.

"I don't know, mate," Ron said with a shrug. "These things are so rare, there's not much information on how they're operated."

Harry drew his wand, and gazed into the contents of the pensieve. He slowly prodded the liquid with the tip of his wand, and images immediately began swirling to the surface. Unknown faces passed as a small window began opening in the center. Just as Harry leaned forward to get a better look at the scene, Dumbledore's office door banged open and a bushy haired blur rushed in. She skidded to a halt and her worried face took a look of suspicion when she saw the guilty expressions of the Weasleys.

"What are you lot up to?" she asked, striding over to Ron's side and taking his hand. "I heard about your father and came as quick as I could; Filch and Peeves were on the fifth and sixth floors."

Everyone in the room stared at her in awe. It was a moment for the record books that Hermione Granger snuck out of the common room after curfew on her own.

"What?" she snapped. "I wanted to be here for you."

"We appreciate that, 'Mione," Ron said. "We've only heard that he'll be okay, though it was touch and go for awhile."

"Yeah, although they still won't tell us what he was doing in the Ministry in the middle of the night," Ginny added, her fury spiking again. When Hermione turned to reply, she spotted the edge of the pensieve behind Harry's back and understood.

"No," she immediately said, crossing her arms. "You can't just invade Dumbledore's memories. Those could be personal! You don't even know how to work the thing, there's no guarantee that you'll find ANYTHING of value, and if Professor Dumbledore finds out-"

"If Dumbledore finds out, it will be too late. Voldemort is attacking everywhere and is furious at me," Harry interrupted. "This is our war too, Hermione." He felt Ginny agree mentally and turned back to the pensieve before she could reply. Stooping forward, the tip of his nose touched the cool liquid and the world pitched forward. Everything went dark and he was weightless, before the world materialized around him and he was sitting at a bar. Ginny appeared next to him, followed by Ron, Hermione, and the Twins. Ron yelped as a bar patron turned and walked through him as if he were a ghost.

"This is just a memory," Hermione said, gazing around thoughtfully. "We can't be seen or heard- we're just silent observers."

"Well, Ms. Observer, where are we?" Fred asked, and shrunk back as Hermione glared at him.

"This is the Hogs Head, that pub on the other end of Hogsmeade. Most students don't come here, and it's easy to see why," she replied, wrinkling her nose at the filthy bar and unkempt customers. Ginny turned and jumped as she was suddenly face to face with the barman, a tall lanky figure with a piercing blue gaze. Harry knew that gaze, though normally he saw it opposite a broad desk and behind sparkling half moon glasses.

"That must be Professor Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth," Hermione whispered. "He owns the bar."

"Bit of a dodgy place, wonder if Professor Dumbledore visits often." Ron remarked. The bar door slammed open, and chilly autumn air caused them to shiver in their robes. A younger version of their headmaster swept into the bar, locking eyes with his brother.

"In the back room," Aberforth grunted, before grabbing a rag and wiping a grimy glass with it. Professor Dumbledore moved through the bar, followed by his group of future students. He entered a cramped room with a single occupant, a frail woman with glasses that magnified her eyes to owlishly large proportions.

"Why are we watching him meet with this old bat?" Ron groaned.

"Trelawney made a prophecy in third year, right Harry? About Pettigrew and Sirius?" Hermione asked quickly. Harry nodded and after a moment's thought she took on a horrified look.

_"Oh no," _Ginny thought to Harry. _"She's figured something out."_

Before he got a chance to ask what what happening, the headmaster had sat down and began talking.

"-are looking for a professor to teach Divination at Hogwarts," he stated cheerfully, sipping a cup of tea. "As I understand it, your grandmother was a widely known seer?"

"Yes sir," she warbled, "My great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney. I have been selected to inherit her sight. My inner eye watches the fates of others, and I " The twins sniggered as she made her usual mystical voice from class, and Professor Dumbledore sat back slightly. He smiled lightly and finished his tea, before standing back up.

"Thank you very much for meeting here, we will be in touch shortly," he said, before turning for the door. He had barely touched the handle when she clutched her throat and made a rasping sound.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, _

_ Born to those who have thrice defied him, _

_ Born as the seventh month dies_

_ And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal _

_ But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not _

_ And either must die at the hand of the other _

_ For neither can live while the other survives._

_ The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord _

_ Will be born as the seventh month dies..." _

Trelawney blinked rapidly before regaining her faux mystical demeanor and staring up at Professor Dumbledore. Silence fell for a moment, and the group could hear the sounds of a scuffle in the bar below. "Thank you for the interview, my inner eye senses that we will be meeting again very soon."

"Actually, I would like to offer you the position of Divination instructor- I feel you are more than adequate the instruct our students," Dumbledore replied, producing some sheafs of parchment from nowhere and a quill. "If you would like to go over your contract..."

The room began to fade, and Harry felt the sensation of weightlessness take over briefly. He blinked and was back in Dumbledore's office, staring at the ancient basin in shock. Ron was the first to break the silence.

"Bloody hell," he said.

"It all makes sense now," Hermione said, beginning to pace the area in front of the desk. "In the Department of Mysteries there's a Hall of Prophecies- that's where they keep all the records of every prophecy made. The one Trelawney made was about Voldemort's defeat. He wouldn't be so desperate to get to it if he knew its contents, but clearly he knows that it exists. The question is... how?"

"The only person that heard it was Dumbledore. Nobody else was there," Ginny replied.

"Well, nobody we could see," Hermione corrected. "We should view the memory again and inspect the room- it's the only way that information could have gotten out."

"Or we could follow Dumbledore out the door afterwards and see if he encountered anyone in the stairwell," George added. Hermione gave him an odd look, and he shrugged. "We're the masters of eavesdropping," he explained.

"Okay, let's see if we can get this to work again," Harry said, and prodded his wand into the basin. A similar image opened up, and they entered the pensieve.

At first, Harry was confused. He dropped down back into Dumbledore's office, although this time the Professor was present in his chair. He was younger looking, and was not alone. Sitting across from him was James and a hugely pregnant Lily Potter, looking uneasy and clutching hands.

"Professor..." Lily began, "Harry hasn't been born yet. How do you know this would apply to him?"

"Surely there are other babies born at the end of July," James added.

"Indeed, the prophecy could apply to Frank and Alice Longbottom's child. We cannot be sure quite yet, but sources indicate that he is coming for you. We will hide both of you with a Fidelius charm in Godric's Hollow, and guard you as best as we can," Professor Dumbledore answered softly. The room was quiet for a moment, both parties taking in what they heard. Ginny grasped Harry's hand, sending warm feelings through the bond. Gazing back at the others, all wore a dawning look of realization. Harry could defeat Voldemort... he _had_ to defeat Voldemort. Without him, the wizarding world would be doomed to the Dark Lord's tyranny.

With a last look as his parents, tears trickling down his mother's cheeks, Harry felt the room fade again and reappear in the modern office... with a present- day Professor Dumbledore sitting calmly behind his desk. He leveled a piercing gaze at each of the students, before waving an arm and producing more chairs before his desk. As they moved to sit, Fawkes flashed into the room and perched on the back of Harry's chair. His presence was comforting, and some peace to Harry's roiling emotions.

"I had hoped to delay your knowledge of the prophecy for as long as possible, although it seems that it is now out of my hands," Dumbledore sighed.

"Sir?" Hermione asked, "How did Voldemort discover the prophecy?"

"I believe you already deduced that answer for yourself, Ms. Granger," he replied, steepling his fingers and sitting back. "Voldemort had stationed a spy in the Hogs Head that night to follow me, and this spy overheard only the first part of the prophecy. My brother discovered him and ejected him from the pub before any more could be revealed."

"So Voldemort only knows that Harry has the power to defeat him, but not that he could win?" Ginny summarized. She was remarkably calm, although Harry could feel a knot of worry and horror forming. Her hand trembled slightly in his, unseen to everyone else.

"Correct, Mrs. Potter."

"Why are you guarding the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries? Why not just take it and hide it?" Hermione asked.

"The only person who can remove a prophecy is the person the prophecy was made about. In this case, Voldemort and Harry." Professor Dumbledore's face seemed to age before them as he explained the Order's efforts to guard the prophecy within the Ministry, and that Mr. Weasley had been the only guard on duty that night.

The floo then lit up, and Percy stepped neatly out of the grate, brushing off his robes. He saw his siblings sitting in the office, and hastened to update them.

"Dad's doing fine, they've got him resting. Mum's going to stay with him for awhile, and we should be able to visit in a day or two," he explained, wearily dropping into a newly conjured armchair.

"In that case, I might suggest that you all head off to bed," Professor Dumbledore suggested, opening the door with a wave of his hand. "I will make arrangements for you to floo to St. Mungos as soon as possible. For now, you must not mention the injury other than amongst yourselves. It's vital that the Ministry not become more suspicious than they already are." The group nodded, and trooped out of the room, moving mindlessly through the halls lost in their own thoughts.

Harry was so caught up in his thoughts with Ginny that he only became aware of his surroundings when he entered their room. Too tired to bother with anything else, they stripped into pajamas and fell into bed. Harry rolled on his side to face Ginny, and they stared into each other's eyes.

_"You can beat him, Harry." _

_ "I don't feel like I can. And even if I did somehow match him with this unknown power, I don't want to be a murderer." _

_ "You're not a murderer, Harry. Murder is done out of hate and vengeance. Murder is done with a black heart and evil mind, no regret or remorse to be found. You are the most loving person I know. And I'm sorry that it comes down to this." _

Harry shifted and wrapped an arm around her small frame, and eventually drifted to sleep.


End file.
